Star Trek: Hideaway
by Ink Spotz
Summary: On a mission to retrieve a file from an enemy planet, Kirk is imprisoned. While captured, Kirk realizes that not only is the planet not an ordinary planet, but they have a vendetta to destroy Star Fleet using him as their pawn along with all the other captured Star Fleet captains. That includes Kirk's father, who is still alive after all these years.(My idea for the 4th Star Trek).
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

"Typical...Just typical..." muttered Kirk under his breath as he sat along the side of the road on his motorbike; a police bike parked a few feet behind him with its lights on.

Kirk turned over his shoulder slightly to see the alien human hybrid checking his license for what felt like the hundredth time. Reaching up to his ear, he tapped his communications device on and said quietly as he turned back around, "I think they are realizing something is off with my ID, Spock."

"I'm a Vulcan, Captain. Not a con artist," came the static sounding reply from the ear piece.

"I gathered that," sighed Kirk as he quickly put his hand by his side again as the officer came back over to him.

His ID was handed back to him followed by a few sentences in an alien language that Kirk didn't understand. He just nodded his head to what the officer was saying, hoping that that would suffice. Being Kirk, he got off lucky. He was soon tucking his ID away before giving one final nod towards the officer and zipping off down the road.

"All clear now, Spock," said Kirk as he touched his earpiece again; flying down the road again on his bike.

"That's good to hear, but I am regretting agreeing with you that you could do this mission alone."

"Spock, I'm fine. Besides, I needed someone to make sure that the Enterprise was alright while I was down here. We're in enemy territory."

"Right, Captain, I just..."

"Spock, stop. I'm fine. I'm blending in just fine. Getting caught for speeding is normal."

"Your definition of normal is strange to me, Captain."

Kirk smirked then, shaking his head as he took a left towards the heart of the city.

"I'm almost at the destination. I shall retrieve the file we need and then move to a location outside of town to get beamed back onto the ship. Is Scotty ready?"

"He's standing by, Captain."

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?"

"It's one thing to call someone by their name outside of work, but in the professional realm, one should be addressed by their title out of respect."

"You need to break traditions once in a while, Spock," said Kirk as he slowed down for a moment to let pedestrians cross the street.

Looking about him, the buildings were towering above him; their points piercing the orange white clouds overhead. The air felt stale and was still as if there hadn't been wind here for quite a while. All of the inhabitants of this planet didn't seem bothered by it though. Looking the same as the alien human hybrid officer he had just encountered, they were all walking towards a marketplace of some sort that was housed in a circle of stones in the center of town. As Kirk sat on his bike and waited for all the pedestrians to cross the street to move towards the center of town, he could feel the sweat pooling on his uniform.

"I miss the air condition aboard the Enterprise right now," said Kirk as he tapped the communication piece in his ear again.

Before Spock could reply, the officer that had stopped Kirk earlier was speeding towards him with its sirens on. Kirk turned slightly sideways to watched the officer's approach. Tapping his ear piece he said to Spock, "I've got the cop on my tail again."

An electronic billboard on the side of one of the buildings nearby suddenly switched its picture. This time instead of being some sort of food advertisement, a wanted poster with Kirk's face on it showed up.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to run from the law, Spock," said Kirk as he turned to rev up his motorbike. If he was caught here while trying to act on behalf of Star Fleet, he'd find himself in hot water when he returned.

"Captain, what are you doing? What is going on?"

Kirk couldn't answer Spock right then as he maneuvered the bike onto a cleared sidewalk nearby, racing down it as fast he could. Shouts came from behind him as the sirens of the police bike blared out into the otherwise silent air. Kirk wove the bike around pedestrians as they let out small screams and lept out of the way. Kirk dared to reach a hand up to tap his com device as he said, "An idea would be nice right about now, Spock. I have a cop chasing me."

"Abort the mission and get back to the location we established at the beginning of this operation. I'll have Scotty beam you back on board the ship.

"But we need the file to complete this mission."

"The mission will be blown if you get caught, Captain..."

"Kirk. Start calling me Kirk, Spock…." said Kirk as he dodged the pedestrians with ease.

"The mission will be blown if you get caught," repeated Spock before adding on, "Kirk."

"Better..."

Kirk cursed then as his tire was suddenly shot at by the officer chasing him. He could feel the flat tire of the bike cause the bike to slip down onto its side and moved to jump sideways off it. He landed on his side on the sidewalk as his bike crashed right through the middle of some sort of fruit stand. Without meaning to, he had lead the chase right into the heart of town. Not waiting too long to take a course of action, Kirk was soon stumbling to his feet and running on foot through the pedestrians in an attempt to blend in and lose the officer.

"Beam me up!" yelled Kirk as more startled shouts surrounded him as he pushed through the foot traffic milling about, muttering out apologies as he did. He turned over his shoulder once to see that the officer was in hot pursuit before saying again, "Beam me up!"

"We can't do that. The town is covered by a deflector shield of sorts that makes locking on to you impossible."

"Well, do something! Don't just stand there." Kirk jumped up onto a crate nearby and used the lift to clamber up onto a low roof nearby. He started running across the rooftops in front of him as the officer started shooting at him again.

"I shall send a rescue team down to retrieve you, Cap-"

Kirk had at first thought that the cut off word had meant that Spock had realized his mistake and was going to correct it by calling him Kirk instead. When he didn't reply though, he immediately started to worry.

"Spock, what is it? Talk to me."

"The planet is moving, Captain."

"Something tells me that you mean more than just the fact that it orbits..." said Kirk slowly then as a shot whizzed past his head. Or so he thought. He soon found his limbs getting heavier; slouching down onto his knees on the roof as his head spun. "Spock..."

"Captain?"

Kirk couldn't answer; his eyes soon rolling into the back of his head as he passed out on the rooftop from the shot. The officer was soon clambering up onto the roof after Kirk, bending as he heard static in Kirk's ear. He quickly retrieved the earpiece and crushed it between his forefinger and thumb with a smirk. Without another word, the officer placed handcuffs on Kirk and proceeded to pick his unconscious form up and carry it away to a prison far below. To the officer, he was told he had captured an escaped prisoner when in fact he was only a pawn in a much different game.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

"You want me to what?!"

Spock let out a small sigh as he looked at the blustering doctor in front of him. Everyone on the bridge had fallen awkwardly silent as the transaction grew more and more heated each passing minute.

"Now just hang on a second, buddy. First you tell me you lost the Captain on an enemy planet, and now you want me to go on a rescue mission after him! I'm not a babysitter! I'm a doctor!"

"Leonard," said Spock in a low, soft tone of voice. "You really needn't yell. I think that you are the prime candidate to carry out the rescue mission based on several reasons."

"And what might those be?" grumbled Bones as he crossed his arms across his chest, staring at the Vulcan in the captain's chair in front of him.

"First off, you are a doctor. If the Captain has sustained an injury during his capture, you will be able to treat him and help him keep moving just as you once did for me."

"This is Kirk we're talking about. I'm sure he'd be fine without my assistance. He's stubborn that way."

"That, doctor, leads me to my second reason. You both have been friends for a while now, and he trusts you. Despite the fact that he is stubborn, he will listen to you far sooner than he will listen to me."

"I doubt that. You two have grown very close too."

"And third thing..."

"There's a third thing? What? Did you compose a list, Spock?"

"Between the two of us, you are the less likely to get recognized."

After Spock stated the third reason, Bones remained silent for a minute, obviously in thought before replying, "I honestly don't know how to feel about that one. I don't know whether I should take offense or not."

"Leonard, I really think you should do this. The Captain needs you."

"What he really needs is a leash..." muttered Bones under his breath before throwing both hands up in defeat. "Fine. I'll go. Happy now?"

"More along the lines of satisfied, doctor."

"Of course. You Vulcans and your feelings..." Bones rolled his eyes before letting out another sigh.

"I'm glad that we have finally come to an agreement," said Spock with a slight nod of his head before handing Bones a small tablet. "I've programmed the Captain's last known coordinates there so that you will have a place to start looking. I have also left you an outfit in your pod that will allow you to blend in with the civilians better."

"How do you know what size clothes I wear?" asked Bones as he stared at the small dot on the tablet that signified where Kirk vanished.

"It's in the records, Leonard."

"Seriously. Call me Bones. You know I don't like Leonard..."

"It is the proper response to use in the field."

"You need to break traditions once in a while, Spock," said Bones, echoing what Kirk had said earlier.

Spock picked up on this point too and said, "You should have an easy enough time retrieving him once you find him. You both are quite similar."

"Lets just hope so..." Bones put the tablet away and turned to move from the room when he paused once again. "Is the planet moving?"

"Yes, it is. Right now the rate is relatively slow, but I fear that that is something that will change fairly quickly. You need to be beamed over soon in order to ensure you are able to rescue the Captain."

"Great," said Bones with another sigh. "I'd better go get ready to save his butt... _again_."

* * *

When Kirk awoke, it was with a leaden taste in his mouth and a head that felt stuffed with cotton. Having to nearly force his eyes open with all his strength, he squinted at his brightly lit surroundings. He could still feel the effects of whatever he was shot up with racing through his veins, making it feel like his insides would soon become his outsides. Once his eyes were able to adjust to the light slightly, he noticed that he was in a gray brick room and strapped down to a metal chair. He tried to twist his wrists in order to free himself, but to no avail. They wouldn't budge.

"State your name for the record," came a loud disembodied voice then.

The voice jumped Kirk for half a second before he attempted to try and figure out who it was. However, as soon as he attempted to try to think at all, a sharp pain raced down his spine from the base of his head. He gritted his teeth and shut his eyes tight to try to force away the pain, but it still lingered there. It only lessened when he stopped trying to think.

"Your name," came the disembodied voice again, this time sounding grouchier than before.

Kirk knew that he shouldn't say his name, but it was almost as if he couldn't help it. He could feel his mouth move to form his name, and fought hard against it. He gripped the arms of his chair as he tried to keep himself from speaking. He wasn't in control of his actions, and it scared him witless.

"J-James Tiberius Kirk..." He finally said in a rush after trying to hold it back for a few minutes, only letting go when the headache became too much to handle.

"Are you Captain of the USS Enterprise?" asked the voice next.

Again, Kirk tried to fight it only to lose a minute or two later and spill the answer.

"Y-yes. I'm the Captain."

By this point, small beads of sweat were decorating his face from the exertion of trying to hold it all back. Whatever drug they had ejected him with was certainly powerful.

"Another Star Fleet captain to add to our collection. How wonderful. Now tell me, _Captain_ , what are you doing here?'

Kirk couldn't even attempt to understand what the disembodied voice was saying because he couldn't think for himself. The only time he could talk was in answer to a direct question. Then it seemed like the words were falling off his tongue, despite his best efforts not to let them.

"Was s-sent by S-star Fleet..." He said through gritted teeth, gripping the arm rests so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Star Fleet..." growled the voice then. The lights seemed to grow brighter before the disembodied voice asked, "Why did they send you here for?"

"A...A..." He was trying to force himself to keep the answer inside and managed to choke out, "N-none of your busi-business..."

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the room then, causing a shiver to race down Kirk's spine.

"You're one of those stubborn captains, aren't you? We have a number of those around. You'll be right at home, and we will break you. You will learn that resistance is futile."

Before Kirk realized it, the room disappeared from view as a cloth sack was placed over his head. He felt gruff arms grab him from behind and pin him close as he was released from the chair. He tried to fight back, but his limbs felt all numb. The fight wouldn't have lasted for long though even if he could have fought. He felt a needle enter his neck, and felt some sort of foreign substance enter his body. Soon the world around him faded to black again as he fell unconscious and was dragged from the room towards his new home.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Kirk didn't know much about what was going on at that moment, but he did know one thing for sure. He hated the shot needles. After failing to comply the first time with answering the questions he had been given, he had been placed into a room where he was chained to the wall. He had been visited twice now by someone, but he couldn't ever tell who since the bag remained over his head. He was having a hard time standing by the time they left the second time; the heat from the bag and the pain from whatever the serum in the needle was were making it near impossible.

"Spock will find me…" Kirk whispered to himself as a form of encouragement. "At least he knows…"

The door creaked open again, and Kirk fell silent again, listening to the soft thud of footsteps as they entered the room.

"Are you ready to talk, Captain Kirk?"

He found himself fighting the urge to say 'yes', wanting this torture did be over already, but he knew that he couldn't. He steeled himself against the truth that wanted to fly from his mouth and instead said, "N-not about what you want…"

A laugh reached his ears and he soon felt a slimy hand clamp about his throat, lifting him a little bit off the ground. He found himself gasping for air and trying to use his feet to kick out at the person holding him up.

"You're going to talk sooner or later…"

"D-dying first sounds better…" he choked out, managing to kick the captor's knee cap once, but very faintly.

That action earned another laugh from his captor, and he soon found himself being thrown free of the grip about his neck; his back slamming hard into the wall behind him. He let out a soft groan as he collapsed onto the ground in his chains; head bent with the bag still on his head.

"What did Star Fleet send you here for?"

"N-nothing…" gasped out Kirk as he fought against the truth yet again.

The bag was yanked from Kirk's head then, and he squeezed his eyes shut to keep the brightness of the room at bay. The slimy hand grabbed him by the face again.

"You will talk, Captain Kirk…"

"K-keep telling yourself that, Slimy…" He choked out with a slightly cocky smile. He had to dig down deep. He couldn't let the enemy win. He hadn't ever before, and he wasn't about to start now.

"You think that Star Fleet will come back for you…Perhaps your crew even, but you're sorely mistaken. That's what they all think."

He wanted to question the use of the word 'all' and the previous mentions of other Star Fleet Captains that were imprisoned here, but his fuzzy mind wouldn't let him.

"You're sorely mistaken…" said Kirk softly before spitting out some of the blood in his mouth at his captor, opening his eyes slightly to make eye contact, but still not being able to see his captor very clearly at all. "You underestimate them…"

"You will die with your hope if you don't comply."

"So be it then. I'd rather die with the truth than to tell you anything."

His face was thrust aside then, and as his cheek slammed into the grimy ground underneath him, he looked up through half opened eyes as another shot needle emerged. He tried to shimmy his body backwards, but soon came up against the wall, completely cornered. If he had the strength to, he'd get up and fight, but the chains nor whatever was in his system would let him. All he could do was watch helplessly as the needle came closer to his neck; his captor bending closer to whisper in his ear, "Whether you comply or not, a war is about to be waged against Star Fleet. There is nothing that you can do to stop us. Our pawns are almost ready."

He felt the needle enter his neck again, followed by the familiar darkness of unconsciousness. His captor left him then to go see all his other broken Captains, and to visit the only other one who remained just as stubborn as Captain Kirk – a man by the same surname.

* * *

"You want me to beam him down onto tha' thing?" asked Scotty in disbelief as he stood behind the Captain's chair where Spock was seated, looking out the window at the fastly distancing planet in front of him. "He could be spliced! There isn't a steady target!"

"Spock, I don't really feel like being Swiss Cheese today," remarked Bones as he sighed, having dressed in the clothes that Spock had put aside for him.

"The only way to get onto the planet unseen is to be beamed there. Taking any sort of craft would alert them of your presence immediately."

"Hmm…Get blown to pieces or made into minced meat. My choices don't seem to be favorable in either case."

"Scotty," said Spock as he swiveled the chair slightly to face the still bewildered man. "The planet is not moving too fast. I recommend if you are going to try beaming, you try it now."

"Well, I…I can try, but if I'm gonna try it, I only dare do it on one person."

"Wait, wait…Now you're telling me that I'm about to do this solo? Spock!" Bones whirled on him then. "I'm not going on a suicide mission! I'm a doctor!"

"Get ahold of yourself, Leonard."

"Bones! Call me Bones!"

"Scotty," said Spock, ignoring Bones once more. "Can you do it?"

"I can try, but I'm not sure if it'll be very pretty…" said Scotty sighing as he walked away to walk back towards the pad.

"I wish you luck, doctor," said Spock as he turned to face Bones, who was still completely disgruntled by the whole thing.

"You'd better hope I make it back in one piece or you'll be hearing from me…" Bones sighed. "Better go follow Mister Sunshine now…"

With his head bent, Bones moved to leave the bridge and walk down the hallway to where Scotty had disappeared off to. It didn't take him long to reach his destination, soon leaning in the doorway as he watched Scotty set everything up.

"You workin' by yourself today?" asked Bones as he crossed his arms, watching Scotty tinker with the panels.

"Yep. I gave him the day off…I didn't think we'd run into a problem, and I ain't about to wake him now."

"Trust me, I didn't think we'd run into a problem either," sighed Bones.

"You'll be perfectly fine. You've done missions before."

"I saved Spock's life _once_ and now you all think that I'm some hero that can just gallivant off on solo missions and save everyone."

"We all have faith in you, Bones. You should have more faith in yourself."

"I think you are all delusional, but Jim needs someone to drag him out of the mud. If it has to be me, then so be it, but he's going to realize what unpleasant company I can become too."

"Don't yell at the Captain too badly. You'll both need to escape once you find him."

Standing up and walking over to Bones, Scotty held out a small box to Bones which he then proceeded to tuck into the waistband of his pants.

"Turn that on when you have located Captain Kirk, and I shall try to beam you both back on board. Hopefully the planet, or whatever that thing is, will stop moving by then."

Bones nodded his understanding as he moved to go stand on the pad that would beam him down onto the planet.

"Now, just relax. It shouldn't be too messy, and even if it is, you're a doctor. You can stitch yourself back together."

"Hardy, har, har. Everyone's a comedian today, aren't they?…" said Bones with an eye roll before the interior of the Enterprise disappeared and he was beamed onto the enemy planet below, prepared to try to locate Captain Kirk and bring him home.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

At least this time he had been chained to a wall without a bag over his head. The room provided the darkness enough though. The only thing Kirk could register was the ground barely moving underneath his feet and the occasional moan or groan for help from someone else that was locked up with him. Kirk knew that he would have to try to think up some sort of escape plan, no matter the headache he'd get from such an action. He couldn't just not do anything, especially after finding out that his captors had a plan to wage war against Star Fleet.

Twisting one of his wrists as far as the cuffs would allow, he felt along the key hole, trying to determine what exactly would fit inside it. When he didn't find a key hole and discovered that they were just pure metal, he sighed. His sigh was met with an answer from the dark that he had not been expecting, "Trying to escape is useless."

"That's not a very good attitude to have," commented Kirk as he turned his head slightly, trying in vain to locate the source of the voice.

"It may not be the best attitude to have, but it's the practical one."

Kirk refused to believe what this man obviously already had. He couldn't believe that an escape was useless. If he did, he'd surely go mad.

"Has anyone ever tried to escape before?" asked Kirk then, wondering if everyone had been too afraid to try escaping before.

"There has been one other person who has tried...He is using his family as motivation to get him through. He actually did come close, if I'm being honest. That's why he's locked up in his own room now."

"Who's he?" asked Kirk. "What's his name?"

"Don't know...I haven't ever met him. Haven't been here as long as him. He was the first captured Captain."

"They have been plotting this for a while then…" mused Kirk as he heard the door unlock then and squeal back on its hinges.

Now that Kirk's vision was clearer, he tried to view one of his captors as they entered the room and walked towards him, but still couldn't get a clear view because of the darkness of the cell. A bag was placed over his head once more, and he was unchained from the wall as he was gruffly led out of the room and the door was locked behind him.

He followed blindly down the hallways, wondering where he was going and when he would eventually stop. He soon got his answer as he was thrust into a room again and forced down into a metal chair. As they were strapping him in, he tried to fight against them, only to get rewarded with a few gruff punches to the gut.

"Stop trying to fight. You won't win."

"Easy enough for you to say now. Just wait until I'm out of this chair, and then we'll talk."

The familiar laugh reached his ears again, causing his anger to rise. He would have said something further had it not been for him hearing another, unfamiliar voice in the room.

"Leave him alone. Don't you have enough Captains anyway?"

"No one can have too many pawns in a game."

The voice. Kirk didn't know why it dredged up a familiar feeling inside of him. He knew that he hadn't heard that voice before, yet a part of him was telling himself he had. Maybe it was just the delusion from all the drugs he had in his system kicking in to full effect now. He supposed only time would tell. For now, all he could do was grin and bear the interrogation that was to come.

* * *

When Bones opened his eyes to look at the surrounding landscape once he had been beamed down, the first thing he noticed was that his legs were missing. He cursed under his breath, freaking out for half a second before he turned his brain on and realized that he wasn't feeling any pain from his legs missing so that meant they still had to be there. Using his hands, he found out that his legs were just buried deep in the sand below him.

"Just great...Tryin' to bury me, is he?"

Bones cupped his hands and tried to scoop the sand away from his legs so that he could scoot out of the hole that he found himself in. It took a few minutes, but he soon did. The black pants he had on were slightly tan now from the sand that still clung stubbornly to the material. Bones sighed and plopped down onto his butt. Casting his gaze about, he noticed that everywhere he looked was endless stretches of sand.

"How did Jim manage to drive a motorbike down here? There aren't any roads..." muttered Bones; the hot climate of the place getting him more grouchy than usual. "Something doesn't add up..."

Before Bones could even attempt to figure out what was going on, a small creature popped out of the sand in front of him. It served to surprise Bones so much that he let out a shout and scrabbled backwards and onto his feet.

"What on earth is that?" asked Bones, watching the fuzzy creature waddle towards him. It was no bigger than a baseball and was completely covered in sand colored fur. It looked up at Bones with reddish brown eyes, letting out a soft squeak.

"Oh, no..." said Bones with a shake of his head. "I don't do cute and cuddly. I'm a doctor, not some sort of vet."

"Did you make it in one piece, doctor?" asked Spock then in Bones ear through Bone's ear com.

"I did, but now I have some sort of furry creature starin' at me..." He muttered as he reached up to press the button on the device in his ear, watching the said creature waddle close to him and nuzzle against his arm. "And now its rubbing up against my arm..."

"What's the creature look like?" asked Spock.

"Well, it's small and round, and it's the same color as desert sand...GET OFF OF ME!" said Bones, standing to his feet to try to rid himself of the creature only for it to come closer to him again.

"I'm afraid, doctor, that you have adopted a pet. The creature you have with you is quite harmless, but it has now identified itself with you by rubbing up against you and will proceed to follow you wherever you go."

"Well that's just great! How am I suppose to carry out the rescue mission with fluffy pants here following me?"

"I'm sure you'll have ways of making it work, doctor."

Bones turned to look at the yipping creature by his feet. Knowing that he couldn't just kill it, he bent to scoop it up into his arms and look it straight in the eye.

"You'd better not cause me any grief. Understand?"

Tucking the creature under his arm, Bones began to walk north, hoping to find a road. He reached up to tap his ear device again, asking Spock, "Are there any roads nearby? I'm in the middle of the desert."

"I'll direct you to the nearest road," responded Spock before adding, "So, what did you name your pet?"

"Jim," replied Bones then with a shake of his head. "Because it's a pain in the butt like he is."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The interrogation lasted far longer than Kirk had thought it would, and left every limb in his body feeling heavy and numb. As the door clicked shut again, he leaned back in the metal chair he found himself still hooked into and tried to fight through the fog in his head to come up with a plan of action. There was too much static in his head for him to be able to do so adequately, which just left him even more frustrated by the whole situation.

"Maybe Spock was right…Maybe I shouldn't have come alone…" He muttered.

He had foolishly forgotten about the man that was in the room with him, and was therefore shocked when he heard an answer to his muttering.

"It is better that it was just you that was captured. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if your friend was here too."

The familiar yet unfamiliar voice again. On top of all the problems he was already having with clearing his mind of fog, this was too much to handle.

"W-who are you?" asked Kirk as he tried to take the bag off his head that they had left there. The bag had soaked up the sweat that had dripped off his body during the intense interrogation, making the air underneath it extremely sticky and hard to breathe.

"They are listening…I can't say here…"

"They don't know your name?..." He asked, coughing a bit at the wet air.

"No, and they won't. I have to protect my family…"

Kirk thought it odd that the man beside him had mentioned protecting his family, but hadn't mentioned protecting his crew. Captains normally thought about their crew as their family, but always usually mentioned the two separate anyway. Shame rushed through Kirk after he let that curious thought pass, feeling ashamed that they knew his name, and had learned so rather quickly.

He heard a small clink beside him followed by footsteps. He soon felt a hand softly grip one of his wrists and turn it so that the hand could fiddle with the lock.

"How did you?..."

"Shh…They are listening, but they can't see. Just don't say a word," the man whispered; the cuff that the man was working on soon dropping free of Kirk's wrist.

Kirk knew to keep his mouth shut now. He didn't need to be told twice. He had been in tense situations before, and knew exactly how to navigate through them as he did the galaxies. When both hands were free, Kirk made a move to take the bag off his head, but was stopped by the other man.

"Don't take the bag off yet, or my plan won't work. I'm going to have to inject you again in order for us to both escape. You're going to have to trust me."

"I'm not trusting some man that I have just met who just told me that he is going to inject me with the same garbage that has been running through my system for who knows how long now."

"I will tell you my name when this is all over. Besides, I'm in the same boat. I'm helping you to escape and I don't even know your name."

"Then I'm going to play the same card. You will find that information out after we get out of here."

"Guess we're at a stand still then," said the man.

Kirk could feel the tip of the needle press against his neck again; an area that was severely raw after everything that had happened. "Be careful…" Kirk said in a low voice, feeling slightly dizzy.

"I shall be. Just relax and trust me…"

The man's hand gripped Kirk's arm gently to keep him upright as the needle was pressed gently into his neck. Dizziness started to accompany Kirk more then; the floor swaying beneath his feet. The warm touch of the hand on his arm turned slimy then, and that's when Kirk realized that it was the drug in the needle causing him to think his captors were slimy aliens, not because they actually were. That was the one clear thought that managed to fight its way through to the surface before his mind became clouded again.

"Just stay close. Lean on me if you have to…"

Kirk submitted more willingly than he normally would have allowed. He was just grateful that he might have a chance of getting out of here sometime soon. He could hear the man tinkering with the lock on the door, soon pressing in the right combination and causing the door to swing open.

"How did you know the right code?..." Kirk whispered as the man rushed with him down the hallway.

"I've been here for so long that I had started to match each pitch to a number. Today I just happened to be right."

"You mean you have tried it in the past and been wrong?" asked Kirk as they hurried along the slippery ground under his feet.

"Yes, which is the reason why I was still there…Now, we have to get away and to safety and then we can come back to rescue the remaining Captains…For now though, remain quiet. We can't get caught," whispered the man.

Kirk nodded again, leaning against the man as his own strength left him. He would just have to trust that this stranger knew what they were doing. Kirk found comfort in the man's voice every time he talked though as familiarity washed over him every time. When the bag was finally lifted off his head, he'd finally find out if he knew the man or not. For now, he had to be content with not knowing anything and trusting this stranger to deliver him.

* * *

"Squee!" squeaked creature Jim from Bones' coat pocket as Bones continued his trek along the side of the road.

"Shut up! You're driving me nuts!" stated Bones, who was still hot and sweaty from being out in the unmerciful sun.

Bones lifted his head from the creature and looked at the landscape that yawned before him. The road seemed like it was leading nowhere fast, and the temperature just seemed to be growing ever hotter. He reached up to touch his ear piece and asked, "How come Jim got a bike to travel with and I have to walk?"

"I assumed that you didn't know how to ride a bike, given how much you have complained in the past about not being able to operate equipment."

Bones grumbled under his breath, rolling his eyes as creature Jim let out another 'squee' from his pocket.

"How do you get these things to can it?" asked Bones to Spock, not being able to take it anymore.

"You can't. They communicate of their own free will just as we do."

"Well, that's just dandy. I'm going to wander the desert with a squealing creature for who knows how many miles now."

"Leonard, check your tablet. I have just sent you some new coordinates that we picked up from our last scan of the planet. I think you might be interested."

Reaching to his waistband to pull out the tablet that was housed beside the return beacon. As Bones turned the tablet on, he noticed what Spock meant. A labyrinth of tunnels was underneath the ground at his very feet. The entire planet, in fact, had labyrinths underneath the ground. Bones came to a stand still then as he looked at the image in shock.

"What kind of planet is this?..." muttered Bones before Spock cut in and said, "This doesn't appear to be a planet, but a high-tech ship of unknown origin. If you can find an entrance to a tunnel, you should be able to locate the Captain faster. I believe that's where they have taken him."

"Would make sense…" muttered Bones, deviating away from the road then to start looking for an entrance to the tunnel.

Careful to not leave too many footprints in his wake, he started to walk across the desert again. He followed the image on the tablet to be able to locate a tunnel that would hopefully lead him to Kirk; creature Jim letting out 'squee's the whole time.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"I think I found a way in, but it's narrow..." Bones said to Spock via the com device, letting out a long sigh. "I guess I'm gonna have to try to make it work."

Looking at the narrow tunnel entrance in front of him, Bones slipped down into the crude sand pit he had dug. Upon following the image on the tablet, he had stumbled across this opening. It had only taken him a good fifteen to twenty minutes in the blazing heat to bring the entrance into vision.

"Do be careful," cautioned Spock. "We have no idea what's on the other side of that entrance."

"You know the entrance is here, yet you can't see beyond it? How does that work?"

"Our view is limited by the shields the ship has up. The shields are also protecting the exterior of the ship from the planet's atmosphere, which is why you are still alive right now."

Bones just nodded his head even though Spock was unable to see such an action. Getting down onto his knees by the opening, Bones tried to pry the hatch open while creature Jim kept making its usual noise.

"I'm really starting to hate Jim right now..." muttered Bones; his answer working two fold as he was also annoyed with the Captain for having gotten caught.

After a few more tugs, the hatch in front of flew open and he stumbled back against one side of the sand pit. He moved a hand up to wipe away the sweat that had gathered on his face, leaning forward to peer into the darkness beyond.

"Here goes nothing..." said Bones to himself before he moved to angle his legs down into the hole, slipping down into the darkness beyond.

Once his feet touched the bottom, he stayed close to the ladder; the light from above the only source of light.

"I don't suppose there is any light in this place..." said Bones, tapping the com device in his ear.

"Not unless you can find a switch," responded Spock.

"Switch...switch..." muttered Bones as he stuck both arms out in front of him and started to blindly try to grope for a light switch. He eventually stumbled across a rectangular box sticking out of the wall and flicked the switch there. What was revealed before his eyes in that instant was certainly not what he had been expecting.

"Hey, Spock, you said this was a ship, right?"

"That I did. Why? What do you see?"

Instead of explaining to Spock what lay before his eyes, he adjusted the tablet so that he could send some pictures back to the Enterprise.

"It seems to me to be more of a lab than anything else..." said Bones.

"An intergalactic lab?" questioned Spock before Bones sent him the images he had taken, confirming Spock's words.

What lay before Bones' eyes was some sort of lab table and a variety of needles and liquid concoctions decorating the shelves nearby. White suits with matching white face masks were on hooks by the metal door. Bones dared to venture a step or two closer, leaving the hatch behind him as he examined the table.

"Something tells me that there are more rooms just like this aboard this ship. A lot of them," said Bones to Spock.

"I quite agree with you, doctor. Do you recognize what any of the substances are in the vials on the shelves?"

Bones wandered over to them, squinting at what was housed in the vials there.

"Not without testing, unfortunately. At first glance though, I really don't know what they could be...You think they used this stuff on Jim?"

"It is one conclusion, yes," remarked Spock.

Bones suddenly fell silent then when he heard footsteps down the hall coming towards the room. He quickly moved towards where the suits were hanging on the wall and slipped into one. As he tugged the face mask on over his head, he couldn't help but to crinkle his noise at the odor inside.

"Whoever wore this suit had a serious BO problem..."

Creature Jim 'squee'd his agreement, causing Bones to roll his eyes. He was hoping the stupid creature would be quiet long enough for him to not get caught. He moved away from the door to go close the hatch he had left open, taking one last look at the surface before he was stuck in the labyrinth lab with Kirk. Wherever he happened to be now.

* * *

Kirk stumbled along for a long while until he felt them change course and enter a room of some sorts.

"Sit down, and take it easy," said the man as he guided Kirk down into one of the nearby chairs. "You're still going to be a little delirious from the drugs."

"Why'd you have to drug me?..."

"Because if they caught us, you wouldn't be at fault as much as I. I could say I forced you with me. It was to hedge our bets."

Kirk just shrugged and made a move to take the bag off his head once more when the man said, "Not yet. The drugs are feeding you a delusion, and I don't need you thinking I'm the enemy."

"You seem to know a lot about what is going on around here?"

"That's what happens when you've been here for as long as I have..." replied the man, sounding sad about the whole thing. "I'm sure that everyone thinks I'm dead now."

Kirk hated being told what to do, and was itching to take the bag off his head, but the drugs were making him too exhausted to do so.

"When will the effects of the drugs wear off?"

"In a moment. Be patient…" The man went silent for a moment before asking, "So, you are a Star Fleet Captain?"

"Yes," said Kirk; truthful answers rolling off his tongue. He had forgotten for half a second that he had to protect himself from saying too much.

"What ship did you captain?"

"N-not up for discussion at the moment," replied Kirk, holding back the truth that wanted to fly from his mouth. "I'd still really like to see who you are and have your name."

"I'd like to know your name too," said the man.

"I suppose I have nothing to lose by telling you my name now. It's not like they don't already know it. It slipped because..."

"No need to explain. I understand. I slipped up a lot more than I should have too, but I still have my secrets. So, what is your name then?"

"James Tiberius Kirk," Kirk said then.

"W-what did you say your name was?"

"James Tiberius Kirk," he repeated. "Why?"

Before his question could be answered, the bag was suddenly yanked free from his head. He squinted at the light surrounding him, looking up at the person in front of him. Whoever it was had a white face mask over their face to match the white outfit they had on.

"Who are you?" asked Kirk, still squinting up at the man as he reached up to remove the mask from his face.

Kirk gasped in shock at the man that stared back at him. Despite the effects of age, the person staring back at him was definitely familiar. It was a face that he was used to seeing on the frame beside his mother's bed; a frame that he would sometimes go and talk to in his younger years for advice. The man standing in front of him had been a ghost to Kirk for his entire life, but yet here he was now alive and in the flesh. He couldn't believe that staring back at him now with the same matching blue eyes was George Kirk, his father.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

As soon as Kirk had stared at the man's face for a few minutes, he screwed his eyes shut. This just had to be part of the delusion from the drugs. His mind was making him believe his father was there, but he couldn't actually be. He had been dead his whole entire life. He felt a hand, a normal non-slimy hand, reach out and gently grip his forearm as he kept his eyes closed.

"You aren't real…" said Kirk after a second, shaking his head from side-to-side. "You can't be."

"But I am…" the man whispered, keeping his gentle grip where it was on his arm. "James, look at me…"

Kirk knew that the man who he thought was his father was crying right now. He could hear it in his voice. Cracking open his eyes only slightly, he looked towards the man to see tears slipping free from his cobalt blue eyes; eyes that looked a lot like his own. Kirk's eyes shut again at the sight of the tears, still not willing to believe what he was seeing.

"The drugs haven't worn off yet. They are still effecting me. You aren't here right now."

"Oh, James…" The hand on his forearm moved up to his messed up hair, gently running fingers through it in an attempt to get it to lay down. It was an affectionate gesture, and one that caused shivers to quickly run down Kirk's back.

Kirk jumped up from his chair then, and opened his eyes as he pushed the man in front of him away. He didn't want to feel the touch of someone who couldn't be his father. This man just couldn't be his father. He had been injected so many times now that surely that was the only reason that he was now thinking that he saw his father in front of him.

"Stay away! Just stay away from me!"

"Lower your voice," said the man sadly as he took one cautious step towards the retreating Kirk. "I'm not going to hurt you."

"You're not my father! You're just not!"

Kirk backed up until he was in one corner of the room. Seeing a rod dangling nearby, he reached to grab it and held it in trembling hands; keeping it in front of him to keep the man at bay.

"Don't take another step," said Kirk, trying to disguise the tremor in his voice. "You need to stay back until the drugs wear off and I can think properly."

"You look like your mother…" said the man then as he continued to look at Kirk sadly. "You have her nose."

"Stay. Back," repeated Kirk through gritted teeth, trying to tighten his grip on the rod despite the fact that it was slipping a bit from how sweaty his hands were.

"You have me in you too…I can see it…"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Kirk then, shaking from anger and from fear. This delusion was stronger than the rest.

"Quiet, son."

"Don't call me that…" growled Kirk as he took a step forward; the rod still out in front of him as if the man were a wild animal. "I am not your son, and you are _not_ my father. My father is dead. He has been my entire life."

"I missed so much…" said the man sadly; the tears still tracking down his face. "I know I have, but I'm alive. I'm here, James. Just put the rod down."

"Make me," said Kirk, glaring at the man in front of him. He was prepared to fight if he had to. He didn't want to fight the man that helped him to semi-escape, but he would if he had to.

"James, please…"

Kirk took another step forward with the rod, thrusting it towards him a bit as if to prove to him that he wasn't kidding about what he said.

"You can't make me put the rod down. You can't make me believe that you're my father."

"But I am…"

"HE'S DEAD!" shouted Kirk then, gripping the rod tighter, "And you are soon going to be too."

"Don't make me do this…" said the man in warning, still looking on sadly.

Kirk didn't say anything else after that. Instead the anger blazed in his eyes as he lunged towards the man in front of him with the rod. The man anticipated this coming, and immediately moved to defend himself from the son he had never met.

* * *

As Bones backed away from the door and pretended to busy himself at one of the shelves while he waited for the footsteps to die away, he thought he could hear strains of shouts from somewhere above him. Waiting until the sound of footsteps died away, he moved to investigate. He looked upwards at the vent above his head, hearing the faint shouts once more.

"How are things going?" asked Spock in Bones' ear as Bones was climbing up onto the chair in the room in order to reach the vent and try to pry it from the ceiling.

"Just peachy…" he said as he used his shoulder to hit the com device, tugging as hard as he could at the rusted grate. "I hear voices, and I'm going to investigate."

"Are you quite sound, Leonard? You're hearing voices?"

Bones rolled his eyes, tugging at the grate still as he replied, "Didn't know you were one to joke, Spock."

"I'm not joking. Vulcans don't joke."

"Of course they don't, but you are half human. Doesn't a part of you want to crack a joke every once in a while?"

"Cracking jokes, as you put it Leonard, is completely unprofessional, especially given the circumstances. I was merely inquiring about your mental health and that was it. No joking at all."

"Darn…And here I was thinking you were turning into some sort of softie or something…"

The grate finally came off then, causing Bones to stumble backwards on his perch a bit. He caught himself before moving to set the grate down on the floor. He climbed back up the chair and reached a hand up to test the stability of it.

"Well, guess I'm going up there…" said Bones with a sigh. "More tight and uncomfortable places to squeeze myself into. What a joy."

Placing both hands above him in the grate, he proceeded to try to pull himself up into it. He had to use the back of the metal chair to get enough height to climb into the shaft above him, but he was inside it before he even realized it. Lying flat on his stomach, he began to move towards the shouts, having to squirm his body from side-to-side as he did. A soft 'squee' could be heard from his pocket, causing Bones to stop to lift creature Jim free and set him before him.

"There you go…" said Bones as he watched creature Jim jump about in front of him. "And here _I_ go becoming the softie…Just great…"

Now that creature Jim was free, Bones began his slow progress forward again, hoping that the shouts would lead him to the Captain and not into a trap.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"James Tiberius Kirk, stop this instant! Listen to me!"

Sounding like a father chiding his son (which was indeed the case), he soon found himself holding his flailing son, Kirk, in a headlock as he jerked the rod from his hand with his free one. Though he had been imprisoned here for a long while, he hadn't lost the fight in him. His body may be weak, but the stubbornness in him was what gave him the strength he needed now.

The rod clattered to the floor at their feet and before Kirk had time to react, he found himself pinned up against the wall; an arm across his chest.

"James, stand down..." said the man in a low growl.

"You aren't my father..." choked out Kirk as he glared into the eyes of the man in front of him.

"I am though. I'm your father!"

"Shut. UP!"

Kirk kicked the man in the shins then, causing his grip to fall slack and allow Kirk a chance to escape his hold. He moved to stand alone on another side of the room, watching the man as he rubbed his shin for a moment before standing up straight again.

"Stop. Please. Just give me a chance to explain..."

"What did you shoot in my neck? Huh? How much of the dose did you give me?" asked Kirk, standing his ground and staring fiery blue daggers at him; his eyes staying locked on the man's form.

"Enough to make our escape look convincing. It wasn't more than the usual dose. James, would you just listen to me?"

"I've already had enough lies as of late. I don't need to be fed more," replied Kirk coldly.

"But I'm not lying to you. Just allow me the chance to explain. I did help you escape, didn't I?"

"We haven't escaped yet. We're still trapped in whatever place this is, and this could all very well be some sort of trap to get more information out of me. I'm not new to this."

"I never thought you were. I don't underestimate you…"

"Wise choice."

Seeing that he wasn't about to sway Kirk anytime soon and convince him, the man took a deep breath and released it in a heavy sigh. His eyes scanned the room they found themselves in, which was nothing short of a closet.

"I would fight with you more, but now is not the time or the place," said the man as his gaze turned back to the belligerent Kirk. "We can't stay here. You're right. We haven't escaped completely yet, and we can't afford to waste the time we have to escape with fighting."

Kirk nodded his agreement. Though his mind was hurting from trying to figure everything out, he knew that the man in front of him was right. He would still refuse to acknowledge the man as his father, sincerely convinced that this was a lie that his eyes were feeding him. He couldn't even begin to believe that the picture he'd been talking with for years, the picture that he had pinned inside his sleeping pod, could be alive. He didn't have the mental or physical strength at the moment to try to process it.

"Fine, but this time _you're_ the one that is going to get the injection. I mean, if you say it's harmless and needed to escape, then you won't mind."

"But I know this place better than you. I've been here longer," the man tried to object.

"And I can learn it just as well as you in no time at all," stated Kirk in rebuttal, "And I'm going to whether you like it or not. If you don't approve, we can go for the other option and just wait for someone to find us. Your choice."

Kirk knew that this plan could backfire, but he had a strong feeling that it wouldn't. The man before him didn't seem to be one that would object as long as its ultimate goal was to lead them to safety. Kirk's thought was soon cemented as the man nodded his head, and moved closer to Kirk.

"Alright then. You'll need to wear this suit though."

Kirk nodded, watching as the man in front of him stripped out of the white suit to reveal the ragged looking uniform underneath.

"Where did you even get the suit?" asked Kirk.

"I stole it off one of the captors in the interrogation room. I knocked them out before freeing you," said the man. There was a short pause in the air as he finished slipping out of the suit before he added, "I'm not one of them, and I'm going to show you. You'll believe me in time. I've learned to be patient after everything that has happened. Trust me."

He held the suit out to Kirk after, who took it and gently began to slip it on.

"How's Winona?..." asked the man as Kirk slipped the helmet down over the top of his face.

Now he was asking about his mom? Maybe this was his father, or maybe it was just one of the captors who had read through his files. He didn't believe. He couldn't believe it, especially not after seeing what the drug could do.

"She's fine," he said bluntly in answer. He didn't need to go into any details with this man.

He nodded sadly, turning aside as Kirk looked on at him.

"I just hope that she is happy. That's all I wanted. I wanted both of you to be happy, and to not live in grief."

Kirk picked up the bag he had taken off his head and held it out to the man. He was trying to tune out everything he was saying in utter denial. The man took the bag and slipped it onto his head.

"The injection needle is in the breast pocket of the suit. I made sure to grab a spare."

Kirk nodded as he reached for it, withdrawing it from the pocket and momentarily gazing at the contents inside. A bluish green liquid stared back at him. Upon moving the needle, translucent residue from the liquid clung to the walls, looking like slime. He knew that he would have to take a sample back to his ship for Bones to analyze. If they were to stop this enemy from attacking Star Fleet, they'd need to know what they were up against.

Kirk moved the needle closer to the man as he tilted his neck so that Kirk could insert the needle easier. Before Kirk could insert the needle though, he heard a noise from the ventilation shafts above his head. He brought the needle back, and backed away from the man as he craned his head upwards.

"I think something is up there…" muttered Kirk, slipping the needle back into his breast pocket before moving to see if there was a way to see what was in the grate overhead.

"Be careful…" warned the man who stayed with the bag over his head where Kirk had left him.

"Careful is my middle name. Not that you'd know," retorted Kirk with a small smirk.

The man wore the same smirk underneath the bag, thinking to himself, _"That's my boy. He acts just like me."_

* * *

"Great…Just great…"

Bones had made slow but steady progress up that point in maneuvering through the shafts. It wasn't until he had been moving along for a few minutes that the shaft had gotten a bit narrower and caused him to become stuck.

"I'm gonna definitely develop claustrophobia after this for certain…" remarked Bones, tilting his head as far as he could to turn the com device on. "I don't suppose you have any bright Vulcan ideas."

"I have a number of ideas, Leonard, but them being bright will depend on the circumstance. What is it that you need?"

"I'm stuck in the shaft," said Bones then with a sigh. "Any way you can help me get out?"

"Suck in your gut," suggested Spock.

"That's it? I com you thinking you will have this bright idea that no one has ever conceived before, and all you're telling me is to suck in my gut?"

"There aren't many options given your circumstance, and sucking in your gut is one way in which you will get the outcome that you desire."

"Don't you think I've tried that, man?" hissed Bones in frustration, making sure to lower his voice again so that he wouldn't get caught. "It's not helping."

"Where's Jim? Maybe he could help you."

"I'm still trying to look for him," said Bones. "I would have told you if I located him."

"I'm not talking about the Captain. I would not refer to him in that manner. I was making reference to the pet that you acquired earlier."

"Oh _that_ thing…He ran ahead of me a while ago. Who knows where he is now. How would it be able to help me anyway?"

"The creature that you have come into possession of has a different chemical makeup then creatures similar to it. Due to this change in its structure, it can-"

"Give me the abridged version in English, Spock. I don't want to be stuck here the rest of my life."

"In short, I'm saying that Jim, as you so call him, can take in enough air to cause its body to blow up into a ball that could dent the shaft you find yourself stuck in, and allow you enough room to escape."

"That's better advice. Why didn't you start with that instead of telling me to suck in my gut?"

"I was merely giving you the option that could be the quickest and just as effective."

"Yeah, okay…Sure." Bones rolled his eyes before looking ahead of him in the shaft, trying to figure out where creature Jim had wandered off to. He spotted him at the end of the shaft then, staring back at him before it let out a small 'squee'.

"Come here," said Bones then, nodding his head towards himself to try to indicate for creature Jim to come near.

When creature Jim just continued to stare at him in an innocent manner from the end of the shaft, Bones began to get even angrier and even more frustrated by the situation he found himself in.

"Come here," said Bones in a bit louder tone.

Still creature Jim stared at him as if he were completely oblivious to the man yelling at him a few feet away.

"Get. Your. Butt. Over. Here," remarked Bones in a measured voice then.

Still no movement from creature Jim aside from him slipping a step further away.

"JIM! GET OVER HERE!" shouted Bones then, immediately clamping his mouth shut afterwards. He had just realized that he had yelled and now his voice was echoing throughout the shafts.

He soon got an answer, but not in the form that he wanted. He heard a creak from the grate a few feet away from his feet, and being stuck in the shaft in the way he was, there was no way for him to turn around and see who was coming. All Bones could do was lay as still as possible and hope that the person either lost interest in the pursuit or was blind. Otherwise, Bones was as good as caught, and the rescue mission to rescue Captain Kirk would go south fast.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Finding a nearby box that he could use to be able to reach the grate, Kirk had removed the helmet that had been previously on his head in order to see the grate better. No matter how hard Kirk tugged at it, the grate refused to budge. It certainly didn't help that he was weak from all the injections he had endured (and one he was still adamant he was fighting off). Hearing the grunting leaving Kirk's mouth, the man proceeded to remove the bag off his head and look at him.

"Need some help?"

"Not. From. You..." grunted Kirk as he shifted his position on the box he was standing on, trying a new angle to see if that would help him to get the grate to slip free of its home in the ceiling.

Kirk turned to look over his shoulder at the man, noticing that he was standing there and staring at him with the bag off his head.

"I didn't say that you could take the bag off," said Kirk as he removed his hands from the grate to glare at him.

"You're not the Captain here, but I _am_ your father. I get the final say."

"You aren't my father," said Kirk stubbornly, watching as the man who claimed to be so brushed past him and moved to try to removing the grate. "And whether I'm here or on my ship, I don't stop being Captain."

The man didn't bother responding as he began to try tugging away the grate, soon getting it to squeak free of its home above.

"You know...you have my stubbornness. I know that you don't want to hear me say so, but that doesn't stop it from being true. I imagine you gave Winona a hard time every once in a while..." He remarked with a chuckle; a distant look in his eyes as he stepped back with the grate in hand.

"You're right about one thing," Kirk said, watching as the man turned to look at him with a bit of a hopeful look on his face before it fell away as Kirk said, "I _am_ stubborn, but that doesn't make you my father."

He glared at the man for a moment more before moving to climb back onto his perch and peer into the shaft. He immediately rose both brows in confusion as. staring him in the face. was a pair of shoes. Not knowing who the feet belonged to, he decided to venture out and wrap a hand about the person's ankle to give it a tug. He was rewarded with the other foot he hadn't grabbed kicking out and slamming right into his face. Immediately ducking down out of the grate, he clapped a hand to his now bloody nose as he muttered to himself.

The man turned to look at Kirk in concern, watching Kirk draw his hand away from his nose to see it was coated in blood.

"Someone's up there then?"

"More like someone is stuck up there," muttered Kirk as he stared at the blood decorating his hand.

"And it certainly wouldn't be our captors sneaking around the shafts," commented the man, moving towards it himself.

"Well duh," said Kirk, who was now far more irritable than he had been.

He brushed past the man to be able to get to the grate again. Before he could reach out a hand again though, he saw the person squirm followed by a rattle a little ways away. Kirk knew what was happening. The enemy had also realized this person was stuck in the shafts and was trying to get him from another grate. Kirk turned back to look at the man who called himself his father. He had his suspicions about the man, but knew that even if this man happened to be the enemy, they both had the common goal of escaping. He felt that he could possibly befriend him as he had Khan and at least make it out of this place before he dealt with him properly. He didn't see himself left with any other option.

"Guard the door," said Kirk as he addressed the man. "They have found the person through another grate. They may come to this room to try to get him the other way. We can't risk being caught."

Nothing more had to be said. Though the man didn't seem eager to take commands from Kirk, it was evident to anyone within miles that he didn't wish to fight with his son anymore. Grabbing up the rod that he had slapped from Kirk's hand a few moments earlier, he took up his post by the door. He stood watch for any of the captors that might make a move towards the room while Kirk stuck his head up the grate again and reached both hands forward so that he was able to grab both ankles.

"I'm here to help..." said Kirk softly, hoping that the captors wouldn't hear him.

The man that was stuck in the grate heard him though and soon he heard the man ask in a soft voice, "Jim?..."

"Bones?" He asked in surprise. It was certainly a surprise to see the medical doctor of the _Enterprise_ stuck in a ventilation shaft on an enemy planet. Or ship. Or whatever it was. Kirk didn't even know anymore.

Grabbing the ankles with a new found strength, Kirk tried to tug only to realize that Bones wasn't about to budge anytime soon.

"What are you doing?" Kirk asked as he heard the clattering still occurring from the vent in front of Bones.

"Trying to find you, obviously."

"Well you missed the right grate," commented Kirk, letting his cocky attitude shine through despite how tired out he felt.

"Wonderful way to state the obvious, Jim," said Bones. "Now get me out of here before-"

Both of them paused when they heard a clicking sound then followed by a dull whir.

"That better not be what I think it is..." muttered Bones.

The whirring noise grew louder and louder in volume then, causing gusts of air to race down the vents. Bones' body began to move then ever so slightly, inching backwards.

"DUCK!" shouted Bones, knowing it was no use anymore to stay quiet.

Kirk obeyed Bones. He let go of his ankles and ducked just in time to see Bones fly backwards and down the vent, letting out a yell of 'I told him I was just a doctor!"

Without hesitation, Kirk knew that he had to go after Bones. If he didn't, he knew that Bones would either end up as minced meat or in the hand of the captors. He didn't want anyone else to endure the injections or the torture that he had already gone through. Moving down off the perch again, he strode towards the door, moving to try to yank the rod from the man's hands.

"What are you doing?" asked the man, still keeping a firm grip on the rod.

"I'm going after my friend," responded Kirk.

"That's not wise, son," said the man as he looked at Kirk.

"Not _wise_? I'm sorry if you don't have a conscious like a normal human being, but going after my friend is the right thing to do. I'm not about to just stand around and watch him die like you seem to be willing to do."

A wounded look appeared on the man's face as he still kept a firm grip on the rod Kirk was trying to tug away from him.

"There is a time and a place for having to make rash decisions to do the right thing. This is not one of those times. If you go after your friend now and save him, you both will end up in the hands of the captors. If you don't go after him, you and I can go save him together. You and I both know that he won't be chopped up by the fan. They wouldn't let human remains junk up the air shaft in this place."

"You may want to bet about the likelihood of my friend living or dying, but I don't. Now let go you coward."

The growl that formed in Kirk's voice then as he tried to rip the rod free caused the man to tighten his grip even more. Keeping his grip on the rod, the man spun and made it so that the rod was right across Kirk's chest. He pulled the rod towards him, pinning Kirk to his chest as he slipped one hand into the breast pocket of the suit Kirk wore to grab the needle. He soon plunged it into Kirk's neck, causing him to pass out and fall to the floor. As the man looked at Kirk's unconscious form on the floor, he moved to collapse onto his knees. Tears ran down his cheeks as he moved to sit Kirk's limp body up slightly, gently taking off the suit and putting it back on himself. He slipped on the helmet before placing the bag back over Kirk's head, picking him up and cradling him in his arms as he walked towards the door.

"If I was a coward, I wouldn't have been brave enough to save you from yourself just now...Now lets go find your friend..." He whispered to Kirk's limp body before slipping out into the hallway.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

" _Oh James..."_

 _Looking out through bright blue eyes, twelve-year-old James Kirk watched as his mother fussed over the small gash on his leg that he had gotten that day. He had been proud of the cut that he brought home, feeling like that was a badge required for manhood. His mother, on the other hand, acted as if the gash made it so his leg had to be amputated._

" _Mom, I'm fine!" whined James as he tried to brush his mother's touch away._

" _You're not fine! You have a bleeding cut on your leg!"_

 _Sighing, his mother turned to consult the first aid kit again. James' gaze turned to his mother's boyfriend then. He was currently lying across the couch with his mouth half open, clearly asleep. This man couldn't replace his father. He wasn't a hero. He was a couch potato with a convertible._

" _Mom! I'm almost thirteen! A cut on my leg won't kill me," James remarked as he felt his mother's gentle touch brush under his right eye._

" _You're always getting into scraps, James. Why can't you play nice?"_

" _Because everyone else is stupid," he said with a slight smile._

 _The smile, and the remark, didn't please his mother though. She puddled up slightly, sitting back on her haunches as she moved to train her eyes towards the ground. James felt guilt surge through him then. He always felt that way when he made his mother upset. Slipping down off the chair, he moved onto his knees on the floor in front of his mother, wrapping his arms about her._

" _I'm sorry, Mom...I didn't mean to upset you...I'm just trying to do the right thing...I want to make my father proud..."_

" _Carl is proud of you..." she whispered as James shook his head. He wasn't talking about Carl, her current boyfriend. He was talking about his biological father, George Kirk._

" _I wasn't talking about him..." He whispered softly as he hugged his mother gently on the floor while Carl continued snoring behind them, oblivious to the world._

 _James felt a tear drip down onto his cheek, falling free from his mother's eye. He moved to kiss her cheek then, trying to lift her spirits._

" _I miss him..." she whispered. "George was...George was just like you..."_

 _That caused a feeling of pride to swell within James' chest. It was nice to hear that he was a lot like the father that he admired and never met. Sitting back a bit, he moved a hand up to brush the stray tears off his mother's cheek._

" _I am?" He asked as he kept up the action; dashing the tears out of existence._

" _You are...You are looking more and more like him too. Just...I don't want to lose you too..." Her voice choked up then; cracking slightly as she vainly tried to stop crying. "I worry that if you keep making rash decisions in the future that nightmare will become reality..."_

" _Mom, I promise...You won't lose me."_

 _He established eye contact as he spoke those words; locking his crystal blue ones on soft brown ones. When he saw her nod, he smiled softly and flicked his gaze towards Carl again with a small scowl._

" _He will never replace my father...He's not a hero..."_

 _Sniffling still as she was starting to recover, his mother swiveled slightly to look at the sleeping Carl on the couch._

" _Be kind to him..."_

" _He doesn't do anything though," insisted James. "You work all the time, and he just sleeps."_

" _He says the job market is tight right now..."_

" _Mom, he's using your money to upkeep his car."_

 _"He loves you though..."_

" _He told me to stop being a pest...told me to get lost..."_

 _Sighing, his mother turned back to look at him, running a hand through his hair._

" _I understand that no one will replace your biological father, but he's dead, James. I want you to have some sort of father figure in your life, and at least Carl is trying. He may not be doing well at it, but he's trying."_

" _He loves his car more than us, Mom. If something were to happen to his car, he would leave."_

" _James, just shush..."_

 _In order to ensure that he remained silent, she leaned forward to softly kiss the top of his head. She slowly moved to stand up, walking towards the stove in order to start supper. James remained on the floor even after she had walked off, staring at the sleeping Carl on the couch. He reminded his mother of his real father. He couldn't get over the feeling of pride that that knowledge brought with it. Slowly standing up, he knew what he had to do. He had to be like his father. He had to protect this family, and that meant getting rid of Carl._

 _Making sure his mother was distracted with preparations for supper, he stole quietly into the room where Carl was sleeping. Standing over him, he slipped a hand forward to free the keys from his pocket. He did so gently so as not to wake him and then moved outside to where the white convertible sat in the driveway. A smile spread over his face then as he observed the vehicle, twirling the key ring on his finger._

" _Time for a joyride," he remarked before moving to jump into the vehicle, starting it and flooring it into reverse out of the driveway._

 _As he squealed out of the driveway, seeing his mother appear on the porch out of the corner of his eye. He was just proving a point. He certainly hadn't meant to crash the convertible over a cliff or be brought home by the local law enforcement. He had proved his point though. Carl left promptly the next day and it didn't even break his mother's heart. She looked relieved even. James had protected his family just as his father had, and he was hoping that he always was able to make him proud._

* * *

Bones flew down the shaft, slamming into the metallic sides and vainly trying to claw at them to get a hold. At least he had sort of accomplished his mission. He had found Jim. He was alive for now at least, and as soon as he got out of this crazy shaft, he was determined to get to him so he could finally beam back to the Enterprise.

"OH COME ON!" shouted Bones as he tried to reach out for a stop then; his hand slipping free of the corner he had managed to hold on to for half a second.

Still flying backwards, Bones could feel the fan getting closer. As he continued to fly past the grates, he was relieved when the fan suddenly shut off. With an 'oof', he landed flat on his stomach, trying to recollect himself so he could make his next move. Before he had a chance to think much about what his next move would be, a squeak could be heard as a grate was removed.

"Please be Jim..." He whispered.

Just then, creature Jim appeared around the corner of the vent, softly letting out 'squee's as it got closer. Bones couldn't help but to roll his eyes at the reappearance of such an unhelpful creature.

"I'm going to have words with you later," he said softly before he felt a hand wrapped about his ankle, tugging him backwards.

"Jim, if that's you..." Bones dared to say before he got a growl in response. "Okay...Definitely not Jim."

Bones threw his hands out then for another hold as Spock suddenly started to talk in his ear.

"Doctor, what is going on?"

Turning his head sideways slightly in order to hit his com and activate it, he replied, "I'm sorta busy at the moment, Spock..."

"Have you found the Captain?"

"Not exactly..."

"What do you mean by saying that? Either you have found him or you haven't. There is no way to not have a definite answer to that inquiry."

"I don't have time to deal with this, man!" He shouted then.

Spock fell silent as Bones failed to hold on, dangling half in and half out of the grate. Bones screwed his eyes shut, certain that whoever had been tugging at him had captured him. That was when his ears registered the sounds of shouts and collapsing bodies below him. Trying to turn his head to be able to see, he saw the bodies of white suited men lying on the floor. As the noises all died away, he suddenly felt someone grab him by the waist and gently bring him down to the ground. Since he was back to and whoever had grabbed him had a white helmet of some sort over their face, Bones knew that he had to be prepared to defend himself. He turned to face the white suited person in front of his hands, bringing his fisted hands up and ignoring Spock's voice in his ear.

"Listen here. I'm a doctor which means I know exactly where to punch to ensure that you aren't moving anywhere fast anytime soon. I wouldn't be messing with me if I were you."

"I don't want any problems," replied the white suited person, reaching up to remove the helmet.

Bones' eyes widened when the helmet was removed, needing a minute to snap himself out of his shock. He knew this man. He had seen his picture before in Kirk's pod when he had gone in for a report.

"Doctor, what's going on? Are you alright?"

Reaching up to tap the com device in his ear, Bones replied, "I honestly don't know."

"Why are you saying that? Being cryptic is not the proper way to carry out this mission..."

"Spock," said Bones then with a sigh. "I've found a ghost."

"Paranormal beings do not exist, doctor. I assumed that you would know that best out of everyone since you are a doctor..."

"Spock...I have though. I've found Jim's father. He's alive, Spock. George Kirk is alive."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

Spock couldn't get his mind around what had just been relayed to him. He had seen the reports with his own eyes. The reports had been very thorough, or as thorough as they could where the matter of 'death by black hole vaporization' was concerned. As far as everyone was concerned, George Kirk was dead. There was no possible way for any human being to survive driving a ship into the heart of, not only the black hole, but another alien ship. Nero wasn't someone to be trifled with. None of the Romulans were. Spock knew that from experience unfortunately.

"Leonard," he commed back, only to get a buzz of static in response. "Doctor, do you read me? Repeat your last com message."

The terse voice of the doctor soon came through as he replied, "Clean out your pointy ears and listen. I'm with Jim and his father. Jim seems to be in some kind of comatose state at the moment though."

So not only had George Kirk been found alive, but the Captain didn't seem to be very well off either. Slouching back in the chair a bit, Spock found himself staring somewhat distantly at the screen before him that showed the distanting planet/ship in front of them. Lieutenant Nyota Uhura noticed Commander Spock's slouched position in the captain's chair, taking steps over to stand behind him. She placed a hand gently on the back of the chair; her slender fingers wrapping about the back of the chair. Bending, she softly pressed a kiss to Spock's temple. The sudden display of affection from the lieutenant snapped Spock out of whatever trance he had allowed himself to settle into.

"We must act proper while on the bridge, Lieutenant," said Spock softly, turning his head slightly to make eye contact with her as she stood back up straight, dropping her hand from off the back of the chair.

"A kiss is not improper, commander," responded Uhura in the same sort of tone that Spock had spoken to her. A small pout crossed her lips then and she took a few steps back from the chair, "Besides, I was merely trying to show you support. You looked as if something was troubling you."

"Nothing is troubling me, Lieutenant, but it is kind of you to show such concern for my well being. I was just merely thinking about the best course of action to take in light of recent news."

"Recent news?" A pale look came over Uhura's face, and taking a few steps forward again to be near Spock's side so as not to let any news spread yet, she bent to whisper in his ear, "Is it about the Captain?"

"The news pertains to the captain, yes..."

Seeing the sick look continue to reside upon the Lieutenant's features, Spock was quick to amend what he had just said.

"Not about the captain's well being. The captain is still alive, if not a bit bad off. Leonard is taking care of that."

A small sigh escaped Uhura's lips then as she stood back up straight.

"That's good..." she whispered. She wouldn't want to think that the captain had died trying to steal a folder with classified information of some sort. "What is it then?"

"It appears as if Commander George Kirk is still among the living," said Spock then before trying to connect with Leonard again. "Doctor, are you there?"

"No, you have reached the answering machine of Leonard McCoy...of _course_ I'm here. Where would I have gone?"

"How is the Captain fairing?"

"Uncertain right now. It would help if I was allowed time to work."

"Time is one thing you don't have, doctor," said Spock. "Turn your beacon on, and I will see if we are able to beam you all back aboard the ship."

Silence reigned over the communication line for a moment before Spock heard something he hadn't been expecting.

"The beacon is busted. Jim seems to have eaten it."

* * *

He couldn't believe those words had left his mouth, but they were indeed true. On top of having stumbled across Jim's living and breathing father and a comatose Jim slouched against the wall, he had to look at his beacon to see that creature Jim had chewed a hole in it.

"You good for nothing fur ball!" shouted Bones, watching as creature Jim, which had followed him out of the shafts, 'squeed' and moved off into the shadows of the room.

George, meanwhile, stayed a little ways back, surveying all the fallen white suited beings on the ground. After Bones had discovered Jim lying against the wall near the door with a bag over his head, he had been right by his side. George watched the man attend to his son, trying to get him to come about again.

"What did you do to him?" asked Bones then, turning briefly to look over his shoulder at George.

"I gave him an injection to subdue him and to play up a cover story. It'll wear off. Trust me. I know from experience."

"My apologies, but it's hard for me to trust a dead man," responded Bones as he snapped his fingers in front of Jim's face, trying to get him to focus on his face.

Jim's head continued to loll back and forth as his blue eyes continued to look frosted over. He made eye contact with Bones briefly before his head dropped off to the side again. The injection was taking its toll on his body. He wasn't used to it, and he had been administered it several times in the course of an hour. Bones cursed under his breath as he tried to rack his brain for something to do. With the beacon broken and no hope of getting back on the Enterprise anytime soon in sight, he knew that he would have to be thrifty if he had any hope of waking Jim from whatever spell he seemed to be under.

"Get over here," said Bones gruffly to George as Bones once again turned to look at him over his shoulder. "You're gonna help me out."

Wanting to help his son, he moved to kneel down beside Bones. You could see a range of emotions wash over George's face at looking at his son.

"I honestly didn't think his body would react in this way. I didn't..."

"You didn't think," agreed Bones. "Lets just leave it at that for now, alright?"

George just nodded his head as he folded his hands in his lap, looking down at them. Bones cast him a sideways glance before letting out a long sigh. He knew that he was being short with a man that had no doubt been living under tense conditions.

"Thanks for saving my life, by the way..." remarked Bones softly to make up for how short he had just been. "Who knows what would have happened to me if they got me."

A brief smile flicked across George's face as he lifted his head and looked at Bones, nodding.

"You're welcome. You're James' friend."

Before Bones could reply, the familiar sound of static sounded in his eardrums again. Spock was still trying to get heard as he asked once more in his ear, "What do you mean Jim ate the beacon?" Sighing once more, he reached up to remove the device from his ear and hand it to George.

"Talk to the acting captain right now, would you? I'm kind of busy trying to get Jim here to focus..."

Bringing up a hand, Bones slapped Jim across the face. All he ended up getting as a result of that was a low moan from Kirk's lips as his head flew the other way.

"Come on, man..." begged Bones, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "Snap out of it. We need to get out of here."

"Bones..." whispered Jim then as George had just finished rigging up the com device to his own ear. Jim's frosty blues locked with Bone's eyes. "You doin' rescue missions now?"

"Under Spock's command, it would appear so..." muttered Bones before gently slapping Jim's cheek repeatedly. "Just stay with me, Jim...Snap out of it."

Jim just moaned along to what Bones was saying, flicking his gaze to George a few feet away from him. After a few minutes of staring at his father, he turned his gaze back to Bones. Though he wasn't fully ready to lead a charge out of here yet, he knew that he would have to, but first he had to figure out what was going on and locate the file they had come to get in the first place. For now, Bones was keeping him lying against the wall, and he was forced to while Bones looked him over. Jim resigned himself to falling back into a light sleep of sorts over watching George play with the com device. At least the father in his head was familiar.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

 _He stared at his reflection in the full length mirror in front of him. He straightened his posture, tugging at his regulated Star Fleet uniform once more. The polished buttons sparkled in the early morning light, and from somewhere behind him, he heard the shuffling of sheets as his wife started to re-enter the world of the living. His fingers tightened about his coat as he stared at his reflection. He looked so proper. So ready to take command. So…_

" _You look handsome," came a soft, groggy voice from behind him._

 _A smile slowly broke out across his face as he turned to look at his wife on the bed. She had shifted up onto her elbows to look at him; her blonde hair a frizzed mess on the top of her head._

" _How long have you been up?"_

" _For a while now. I was trying to get ready without waking you."_

" _Someone's just a tad excited to tour the_ Kelvin _today," she remarked._

 _He chuckled, shaking his head. As he brought his hands down, he noticed that they were shaking a tiny bit. No doubt it was just the nerves. He wanted to impress, and the thought of him not doing so was enough to drive him a bit mad._

" _I strongly suggest that you..."_

" _What? Take it easy? George, I'm pregnant, not disabled."_

 _A smirk broke over her face as she slowly rose from the bed and padded across the room to stand in front of him. She reached up her hands to straighten his already straight jacket._

" _If I had known you'd worry so much at the news, I wouldn't have told you until I was further along. You know that I'm not going to back down from my service duties on the_ Kelvin _. I have just as much a right to be there as you do. We were both assigned there. We're just going to have an extra passenger with us is all."_

 _It was George's turn to smirk, reaching out a hand to lovingly stroke through his wife's hair. She was stubborn that way. She would never back down once she had her eyes set on a certain goal. She was bound and determined to come aboard the_ Kelvin _as much as he was. They both had graduated with high ranks from the Academy where they first met and fell in love. He had witnessed for the past few years how stubborn she could be when you tried to tell her 'no', and he loved her all the more for it. He bent to place a kiss gently on her forehead._

" _You always were stubborn, wife of mine...I won't dissuade you from bowing out of service then. Just promise me that you'll be careful."_

 _His eyes couldn't help but flick to Winona's stomach. Though she had yet to start showing, he knew that a life was continuing to form within her womb; a life that he already felt fully responsible for. She smiled once more seeing her husband's eyes riveted to her stomach._

" _I'm already thinking about names..." she said softly, causing him to look up at her again with his brilliant baby blues._

" _Oh really? And what names were you thinking?"_

" _Well, if it's a girl, I was thinking we could maybe do Scarlet or something..."_

" _Scarlet?" He asked softly, mulling it over in his head. Scarlet Kirk. Miss Scarlet Kirk. To him, it sounded rather violent almost. He hated that his mind tended that way, but after all the training he had had in the academy, all the name 'Scarlet' did was make him think of blood. He didn't want to discourage his wife though, so he gently reached out to take her hand in his, patting it gently. "We have months to think about it yet. I wouldn't worry too badly about finding the perfect name yet. For all we know, it could be a little boy even."_

" _A little boy," Winona mused, shaking her head. "A mini version of you running around...can you even imagine it? He'd be like you."_

" _And he'd be like you too," added George. "I would hope the baby would have your stubbornness even if it was a boy."_

" _And why might that be?" she asked as she quirked a brow. "I thought you didn't like my stubbornness."_

" _Stubbornness keeps us alive. It helps us to do what we might otherwise be scared to do. I want our child, girl or boy, to have that same stubborn fire that you do. They will need it to survive this world."_

" _I suppose our baby has a fighting chance then. We're both stubborn," she chuckled, pecking his cheek with a kiss. "Remind me to bring up the fact, next time you complain about me being stubborn about something."_

 _He chuckled softly too then, kissing her cheek in turn before saying, "You should probably get dressed now so we aren't late for our tour of our future work environment."_

" _Aye, aye,_ Captain _," she teased with a wink as she left the room to go get washed up and ready._

 _He turned to face his reflection in the mirror once again after she had left, letting out a sigh. There was nagging sensation in the back of his mind that told him something was going to go terribly wrong once the_ Kelvin _had launched. He decided that he would just chalk that worry up to his nerves and let it go for now. He may not be the captain of the_ Kelvin, _but he was the captain of his family and he would always do whatever it took to protect them from harm._

* * *

"Leonard, how is the Captain doing?"

Hearing the chirp of a voice in his ear, George managed to lay his finger on the com button so that he could establish a communication line back. He stayed where he was, watching Bones tend to his son who still remained in a state of semi-consciousness. Between the unfamiliar voice in his ear, the state of his son, and the fact that his son was the captain, it took him a second to compose himself enough to answer.

"He is alive, but still not fully conscious."

Spock, on the other end of the line, was a bit confused by the change of voice. He hadn't realized that Bones had handed his com device to Kirk's father so he could work on Kirk.

"State your name," said Spock formally.

"George. George Kirk."

So the good doctor had been right. Uhura saw Spock lean back in the chair for a moment, steepling his hands in front of his mouth as he tried to contemplate what to do next.

"Commander Kirk, when do you think you can have the captain on the move again?"

George looked at Bones failed attempts to get his son to fully arouse. He knew that they couldn't stay here for long though. They had to get moving. They had to get out of this room before they were caught.

"Soon," he replied to Spock before taking out the com from his ear and getting up. He moved back over to Bones and handed it to him.

"What are you doing?" asked Bones, turning with a disgruntled look on his face to reclaim the com device. "I told you to handle Spock."

"You will have to, and you'll have to get James out of here now before they find out we're here."

He moved to strip out of the suit and lay it out before Bones, revealing his tattered Star Fleet uniform underneath. Bones' eyes widened at the disarrayed state of George's uniform, but refrained from saying anything to his face. George could see the unspoken words in Bones' eyes though, and gave him a sad smile.

"Put the suit on and put the bag back over James' head. Pretend that you are carrying a prisoner back with you."

"What about you?" asked Bones, worried about putting a bag back over James' head, but knowing it was their only option. He toyed with the com device for a moment as he put it back in his ear.

"I'm going to be a distraction."

"Man, you really _are_ Jim's father. You're just as stubborn as him."

A weak smile played upon George's lips then as he moved to bend down next to his son. He reached out a hand to gently touch the arm of the twenty-something-year-old son that he hadn't met until today.

"He gets that from his mother and I, which is why you know you won't be able to dissuade me from doing this..."

"You aren't being logical, man!..." Bones looked shocked at the words that left his mouth then, shaking his head. " _Great,_ now I'm starting to sound like that pointy eared wise crack..."

George chuckled, squeezing James' arm gently as he rose to his feet again. George's eyes turned to Bones as he made his way towards the door.

"Both of you get to safety as fast as you possibly can. Don't worry about me."

Before Bones could say anything else, George had slipped out the door and down the hallway. James' eyes opened slowly, only seeing his father's retreating back as he disappeared down the hall. Tears glittered in his brilliant baby blues as he whispered, "Dad...Come back..."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

All the hallways were beginning to look the same. George supposed that that didn't matter though. As long as he was able to keep moving and keep the guards after him, James and his friend would have time to escape. The distant sound of shouts reached his ears, causing him to propel himself even faster down the hall. Flashes of James' face kept playing through his mind as he ran. His son had grown up to be healthy and strong, but what about Winona? James had never talked about her as if she were dead. Maybe she was still alive. Maybe he would be able to have a tearful, yet joyful, reunion with his wife once this was all over. George shook his head to clear it of stray thoughts. After all, he had a mission right now. He was finally going to be able to be the father that he couldn't be for all these years.

As he rounded yet another corner, he was horrified to find out that he was cut off by guards that had decided to take another route. Looking about him for a quick getaway, he noticed a door off to his left that was slightly ajar and decided to hedge his bets by blindly going in. He quickly moved to the left and threw the door open with his shoulder, immediately getting onto his hands and knees in the darkened room to crawl about for a good place to hide. He managed to get behind a cabinet of sorts right before the guards burst into the room. He sat there with bated breath as he heard the footsteps click against the tile in their search for him. Half of him was hoping that they wouldn't find him and he could escape their clutches once again while the other half of him was hoping that they'd find him to leave his son alone.

He soon heard footsteps pause in front of him, and taking a deep breath, he looked up to see that one of the white masked guards was staring right at him. He felt his heart clench in his chest as he stared up at the figure who was reaching up to remove his helmet. Without a word, the helmet came away and the person crouched down to be eye level with George. George's eyes widened upon seeing the man crouched in front of him. It was...James?

"Come on," he said softly, reaching out a hand to touch George's forearm.

George immediately retracted his arm from his grasp, making himself scoot backwards further on the floor. He had a sinking feeling that this wasn't actually his son in front of him. It had to be the drugs playing with his mind again. He had been exposed to them for so long that now the effects must last longer. Seeing George back up from him, a frown came onto the other's face.

"Dad, come on. Come with me. Come home."

"No," said George then, slipping a hand behind him to grapple for anything on the dark floor that might serve as a weapon if the situation came to that. "You aren't my son."

"I wouldn't expect you to recognize me after all this time, but I am your son. Remember? You said I had parts of Mom in me, and you."

Listening. They were always listening. Whoever their captors were had been listening to them the whole time. They had been watching and listening, gleaning the information that they needed to twist them against each other which meant that the distraction he had just provided for his son and his friend might not have worked out after all. He needed to get out of here and go make sure they were safe. As he continued to move his hand about on the floor behind him, he finally came across a scalpel that had fallen. He wrapped his fingers tightly about the scalpel, telling himself that the man staring him in the face wasn't his son but an enemy.

"Dad, come on. Cut this out."

He watched as the white figure moved closer to him, and seeing the opportunity, he used the scalpel in his hand and lashed it forward. It soon found a new home in the other's forearm. Crying out in pain, he stumbled back and sat on the floor as he tried to remove the scalpel from his arm. Tears ran silently and softly down George's face as he sat there, trying to tell himself to stop cowering there and get up. That wasn't his son. He hadn't just hurt his son.

As George rose to his feet, watching what appeared to be his son on the ground removing a blood tipped scalpel from his arm, he felt the familiar feeling of a needle going into his neck. He had known it. He felt himself beginning to weaken, collapsing back onto his knees as he stared at the illusion in front of him. Even though it hadn't actually been his son, it didn't make it hurt any less.

* * *

"Come on, Jim. We have to get out of here," urged Bones as he practically dragged Jim to his feet once he saw that he was fully conscious again.

Kirk staggered to his feet; his blue eyes still locked on the doorway his father just disappeared out of. His father. His biological father was alive. He had been in denial for a while, but now there wasn't any denying it. It had thought for a long time that it was just a trick that the drugs were playing on his mind, but after being around him for a bit, he was certain. Even hearing Bones talk to the man while he was out convinced him fully that this man, as unbelievable as it was, was his father.

Without waiting from permission from Bones, he began to stagger his way towards the door. Bones rolled his eyes and easily leaned forward to grip Kirk's arm to stop him from going any further forward.

"Hold on there, cowboy. You aren't going that way. We're going to find a way to beam off this place." Keeping one hand tightly on Kirk's arm, Bones used his other hand to grab the broken beaming device, "As soon as we figure out how to fix this."

Kirk shrugged Bones' grip off him, making his way towards the door again.

"I have to go after him," said Kirk as he kept moving closer to the doorway.

"And let your father's sacrifice be in vain?" asked Bones, causing Kirk to stop in his tracks only to whirl around and face him.

"Don't say it's a sacrifice!" snapped Kirk then, shocking Bones. "It's not a sacrifice. He was creating a distraction, and now we're going to get him back."

"Jim, listen to me. Neither of us are going to be any use to him without a beaming device to get back aboard the _Enterprise_. There is a time and a place to be impulsive like this."

"It's not being impulsive," said Kirk with a blue fire burning in his eyes. "It's you being too careful."

Bones' gaze hardened then as he locked his gaze on Kirk. Immediately pushing past him, Bones moved to shut the door and block it with his body. Crossing his arms across his chest, he glared at Kirk as Kirk turned to look at him.

"I'm a doctor, Jim," said Bones in a relatively calm voice. "I know the difference between being careful and intervening to save your life."

Kirk rolled his eyes, beginning to pace back and forth in front of Bones before saying in a broken voice, "I told him he wasn't my father...I said some horribly mean things to him, and I can't just not go after him."

"I'm not saying you can't, Jim. I'm just saying don't do it right now. You'll only end up getting us all captured again, and then we're all going to be stuck here."

Sighing, Kirk knew that Bones was right. He just couldn't help but feel badly about everything that had happened. Pausing in his pacing, he looked towards Bones, rubbing the back of his neck.

"So the beaming device is fried?"

"Yep," said Bones as he waved the battered device in the air for Kirk to see.

"Com Commander Spock. See if he can get Scotty to come down and teach us how to rewire it. Or should I say, you."

"Me?" asked Bones, arching both brows. "Why not you?"

"You're a doctor, Bones. You are used to being careful and you'd be able to rewire it better than me."

"You and Spock both think I'm more than what I am," grumbled Bones as he pushed the device into Kirk's hand before coming Spock to get help repairing the beaming device.

Kirk looked down at the device he had just been handed; his thoughts drifting back to his father. He had said horrible and regrettable things to the man that he had idolized his entire life. He knew that his father didn't blame him for feeling the way that he had at first, but that didn't make it hurt any less.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

"Scotty, I need your help."

Spock had marched straight down to the engine room after reestablishing coms with Bones. If they had any hope of retrieving them before they were caught, the beaming device would need to be fixed quickly. Spock entered the engine room as a plume of smoke suddenly dispersed in his path. He didn't let it deter him though, marching through it towards where Scotty was half hunched over fiddling with something.

"Shall I reference you by your full name?" asked Spock as he came to a standstill behind Scotty; hands clasped behind his back. "I was informed that I should lighten up on my strict protocol for referring to officers, but if doing so does not get the intended result, I shall go back to -"

"More smoke is comin' out of your ears than the engine, commander," said Scotty then as he turned around to face Spock; a small smirk dancing on his lips. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat from the hot interior of the room. He brought a hand up to wipe his brow clean before continuing to address Spock, "Just calm down, would ya? I was tryin' to fix something down here."

"Something always appears to be broken when you're on shift," said Spock silently then.

"Ay! It's not my fault! If you have concerns about the constant state of disarray this ship seems to be in, you should take it up with the Captain. Now if you've just come here to ream me out, I have work to get back to."

Before Scotty could turn his back on Spock and begin his tinkering again, Spock cleared his throat and said in a softer voice, "I require your assistance. Doctor McCoy and the Captain are stranded and need assistance in reconstructing the beaming device."

"See? I told ya that it's the Captain that is always breakin' stuff!"

Spock remained stone-faced as he watched Scotty shake his head and walk away from the project that he had been working on. With Spock following close behind, Scotty went to where he had the blueprints stored; removing a rag from his waistband as he walked to wipe off his oily digits.

"Here it is...I think..." said Scotty as they reached the end of the hall, leaning forward to pull a rolled up plan out of the wall. He used both hands to stretch the plan out, nodding his head. "I don't suppose you know which part is broken...no, never mind. I'm sure you don't. Com them and ask them to tell me what part is broken...better yet, give me the com so you don't have to play the middle man."

Scotty held out a hand palm up towards Spock. Spock knew that it was his emotions that wanted him to fight over the tone Scotty had just used. The human side of him tended to need to be put in check once in a while. Reaching up to remove the com from his ear, Spock placed it in Scotty's hand. Scotty wasted no time in installing it in his own ear and taking a seat in a nearby chair.

"Have a seat, Spock," said Scotty as he tried to connect. "Depending on who I'm dealing with, this might take a while..."

* * *

Kirk stayed positioned by the door as he watched Bones hovering over a crate a few feet away. The beaming device was laid out on the crate; its guts spilling out as Bones tried to delicately rewire it.

"Slow down. It's hard enough understanding it with your accent…." grumbled Bones, retracting the hand working on the device quickly as a shock was sent through his fingers. "Scotty, I'm gonna need concentration to do what you just asked of me, so you do really need to slow down. I don't want fried fingers...No, no chicken jokes out of your mouth, Mister Scotchy! Hey! You walked into that one!"

Bones' eyes turned to look at Kirk by the door, who kept glancing down the hall when he thought that Bones wasn't looking. When Bones had turned his gaze away again, Kirk turned his eyes to look at Bones whose full attention was now back on the device. He could make a break for it. He knew that it was against Bones' advice to run after his father then, but he had to do this. He couldn't just let his father go now that he had finally acknowledged the truth. Making sure that Bones was fully devoted to his work, Kirk turned then and raced out of the room. Bones saw Kirk bolt from the room and rushed towards the door; Scotty still babbling a mile a minute in his ear as Bones peered down the hall at Kirk's retreating form. It was too late to stop him now.

* * *

 _Lilacs. Daffodils. Roses. It was an odd bouquet choice, but Winona was an odd woman. She loved the wildness of a random bouquet; how each was distinctly different but all worked together to make a beautiful bouquet. He nervously shifted from foot-to-foot as he stood in the hallway and waited for her to exit class. He knew that this was foolish. He had seen other guys try and fail in asking her out numerous times. His friends all laughed when they heard he was going to try to ask Winona out on a date. They all afforded him an eye roll instead of words of advice. They thought he was doomed to fail, but George always loved a challenge, and this was definitely a challenge worth loving in his mind._

 _As the class was dismissed and the students seemed to flood from the room, George let his eyes flit about for Winona. He gazed past everyone and saw that she was still seated in the classroom at the table. She seemed to be busily writing down whatever was at the front of the class, but she was the only one that seemed to be left in the room. Even the instructor had left. People at Starfleet Academy seemed to leave classes after they ended faster than warp._

 _Stepping into the classroom, he quietly made his way over to Winona. She didn't even spare a glance in his direction, not even seeming to notice his entrance into the room as her hand kept moving across the page. Instead of rounding the table to show himself to her and present her with the flowers, he moved to sink down into the seat right beside her. He laid the bouquet gently down on the table's surface as he looked forward at the board._

" _Why are you here?" asked Winona after a minute or two had passed in absolute silence aside from the sound of the pencil on the paper._

" _You are in an advanced astrophysics class and you're asking what I'm doing here. I think you know."_

" _Being cocky. Not a very smart move if you're trying to woo me."_

" _I'm not trying to woo. I'm not a Casanova." He flicked his gaze away from the board and back down at the bouquet in front of him. He picked it up and turned slightly in his seat to hand it to her. "I'm here to present you with some flowers."_

" _And that's not wooing?" She asked with a smirk, arching a brow as she looked at the bouquet. "Wait...how did you know what flowers I liked?"_

" _Well, lets just say I happened to already take advanced astrophysics a year or so ago so I'm quite smart," he replied with a twinkle in his eye before adding, "I observed. I saw you looking at flowers the other day. I saw which ones held your interest the longest."_

 _She put down her pencil and reached out to take the bouquet from George's hand._

" _Are you asking me out?"_

" _Again, I'm pretty certain you know the answer to that one."_

 _She smirked as she looked over at him; a twinkle appearing in her own eye._

" _I like you. You're spunky."_

" _Spunky?" He asked with a soft chuckle; the corner of his lips turning upwards into a grin._

" _Yes, spunky," she said as she leaned over to kiss his cheek gently. "So, where are you taking me? Somewhere nice?"_

 _He grinned over at her before shrugging his shoulders._

" _I might have a place in mind. You'll just have to wait and be surprised."_

 _She smiled, turning to collect her things and stand up. George moved to stand up then too. That had all gone so much better than he had expected, especially with everything everyone kept saying. He moved to take her stuff for her before slipping his hand into her free one. She seemed a bit resistant to that at first, but was soon grabbing and holding his hand back._

 _But the hand soon began to slip, and she began to fade. She was melting right before his eyes as he turned to look at her; melting like the wax of a candle. In horror, he reached out for her, but it was too late. She was pooling at his feet and he felt a sharp pain race through him before he could reach her. She was gone. She was gone…_

George's eyes opened halfway and he stared through blurry eyes at the white suited person before him. The white suited person was holding a clipboard of some sort; the shadows obscuring his face from view.

"W-her…"

He couldn't even get 'where' out of his mouth properly. Everything seemed numb and slow. The white suited man with the clipboard finished writing down what he was working on before swiveling to face George dead on once more. A sickening feeling wormed its way into his stomach as he saw his son smiling cruelly back at him. He closed his eyes, clenching his teeth together. That wasn't his son. His son wasn't doing this to him, yet his real son _did_ not believe him. What if this was really his son? What if he was in denial and that's why he thought it was the injections making him see things? Vulnerable now that his mind was riddling him with questions, he watched as the man he wasn't sure was his son reach for another needle and stick it into his neck, making his world fade to black again.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Why was this ship such a labyrinth? As Kirk raced down the hall, having tugged the white mask back over his face to remain unknown, he realized that he had no idea where he was going. For all he knew, he could have been running in circles for the past few minutes. Every hallway looked the same, and having no way of knowing the schematics of the place, he had no idea where his father was being held right now. He figured that the only course of action he had was just to start busting into rooms in the hope that he had chosen the right one.

"Follow your gut, Kirk," he muttered to himself, pulling up short outside one of the doors.

Having run from where he had been hiding with Bones completely unarmed and still recovering from whatever it was that he had been injected with, he stumbled into the wall as he stopped. He grabbed a hold of a silver rod jutting out of the wall slightly. He figured that it was part of the hallway design, but it would serve as a crude weapon for him now. He turned to grab it tightly in both hands and give it several good hard yanks before managing to free it of the wall's grasp. Holding it tightly in his hands, he moved towards the first door a few feet away. Every hallway may look identical, but at least it was all laid out the same. Having been here for who knew how long, he knew at least where the injection rooms were located. It also was convenient that each injection room door had two white soldiers outside to identify it.

Being dressed like the uniformed guards allowed Kirk to get right up near the door before any sort of alarm was sounded. When he appeared, both guards drew their phasers and held them at the ready, pointed at him.

"Hey, guys. Just thought I ought to tell you that those guys running about the place look like they broke something off the wall..."

He let the sentence end there as he moved to swing the pole up. He managed to knock one guard out with one end of it and swung a foot up to kick the other into the wall. As the first guard hit the ground with a thud, he swung the pole around to knock out his partner.

"There...Easy..." said Kirk to himself; smiling a small grin of satisfaction from underneath the mask.

Stepping over the unconscious bodies, he stepped into the room to see a white suited figure hovering over another figure lying unconscious in a chair. Without even waiting to identify who it was, he swung the pole up to knock the white suited figure out just as it turned to acknowledge his intrusion in the room. The person strapped to the table seemed to be out cold. As Kirk moved to approach closer, he saw that the person lying on the table was indeed his father.

"Ha. Lucky guess," he smirked before spinning the rod about again and hitting the man upside the head. He fell with a dull 'thud' to the ground.

As he moved to stand in front of the table, he was aware of the fact that his father was semi-conscious. He felt guilt worm its way into his gut. If he had only listened to his father earlier and believed him, maybe things would be different now. His father had thought he had to prove himself in protecting him. As Kirk began to remove his father's bonds, he watched him as he slowly started to return to the land of the living.

"Hey..." He said softly through the mask. "You're gonna be alright now. I'll get you back to the Enterprise and..."

He had loosened his father's bonds while he had been talking to him, which in retrospect was probably not the smartest thing to do. He soon found himself pressed up against the wall with his father's hand about his neck as his father fully came about; the pole knocked completely out of his grasp.

"S-stop..." Kirk gasped out, trying to free himself from the strangling gasp of his father. His father's eyes moved from looking glazed over to alert and then glazed again. He managed to free a hand and brought it up to remove the mask on his face. "It's me...Your son..."

Instead of calming his father down, it only made him angrier. Kirk could feel himself struggling more and more to breathe; black stars dancing in front of his eyes. Just as he was thinking that he was about to die, the grip fell slack on his neck and his father collapsed in front of him. Kirk toppled forward a bit, coughing as he tried to breathe properly again. After settling down, he looked from his father's unconscious form to the person that had saved him.

"B-bones," he managed to get out before turning his head to the side and hacking again.

"Next time, hold your horses," grumbled Bones as he turned his gaze onto Kirk. "You ran off and left me with a shock happy beaming device, a frustrated Scotty, and a green blooded ingrate that started to insult me in Vulcan fashion for losing you!"

"H-how did Spock...even find out?" He gasped between breaths as he moved to stand up again.

"How am I suppose to know? He's Spock. He knows things." Bones moved to crouch down next to Kirk's unconscious father. "Lucky for the both of us, I got the beaming device working again. We can get off this planet or ship or whatever this is..."

"Good," said Kirk. He was relieved. Plus, they'd be better able to determine what exactly was going on back aboard the Enterprise.

Bones moved to place one hand on Kirk's father as Kirk put a hand on Bones' shoulder.

"Energize," Bones commanded into the com to Scotty.

Before Kirk realized it, they were back aboard the Enterprise. Spock was the first face Kirk saw as he came walking over to the platform, looking at the unconscious form of Kirk's father.

"So the files didn't lie."

Even though Kirk was still hurting from everything, he couldn't miss Spock's straightforward words. Anger raced through him as he clenched his hands into fists as his side.

"What did you just say?" asked Kirk.

Spock's gaze turned to him then; his face completely devoid of emotions.

"Your father's files were always inconclusive and many theories were developed over the years that had your father surviving the fate that had been thought of him for so long."

"If they were inconclusive, why didn't they say that?" asked Kirk.

"Because to humans, they are conclusive. To me, they were inconclusive. I'm Vulcan."

"You wanna run that by me again, pointy?" asked Kirk, about to take a swing at Spock if not for Bones reaching out and grabbing his arm.

"Jim, now is not the time for fights even though he deserves it..."

Spock opened his mouth to refute what Bones had said, but seeing the look that Bones shot him, he opted to be silent. Bones moved to gently slip his arms under George Kirk's still unconscious frame.

"We need to get him secured somewhere before I can run proper medical procedures on him," said Bones as red shirts off to the side ran to his aid.

Kirk nodded, detaching himself from the emotions the moment brought to re-assume command of the Enterprise. He couldn't act unprofessional now.

"You are relieved of the Captain's duty, Commander Spock," said Kirk without even looking Spock's way. "I shall take over again, and our main concern is figuring out how many innocent people are left trapped on the ship from which we came. We need to figure out the appropriate course of action, and contact the Federation to warn them of its existence and the potential threat it poses."

"Yes, Captain," said Spock with a nod, disappearing down the corridor in a calm manner, which only served to make Kirk even angrier than before.

As Kirk turned and watched his father being rushed down to the medical bay, he reached out to touch Bones' shoulder.

"Alert me as soon as he's awake again. I need to talk to him."

Bones could see the wealth of emotions warring in Kirk's eyes at that moment. He placed a soft smile on his face, nodding his head.

"Your father will be alright, Jim. I'll make sure of it. I'm a doctor, remember?" Bones smirked at that. "I've got it covered."

Bones turned to follow Kirk's father down to the medical bay, leaving Kirk alone to ponder his thoughts. Alone aside from Scotty, of course.

"You're lucky I was able to talk Bones there inta fixin' the device...He's a bit of a hothead sometimes..."

"Shut up, Scotty," said Kirk as he walked past him to head towards the bridge; not being able to keep the slightest smirk from forming on his face.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

 _George sat on the porch of their small Iowa farm. He was sitting in a chair, looking out at the newly acquired home that he and his new wife, Winona, had purchased together. Their son-to-be would certainly enjoy having the run of this place. With that thought in his mind, George Kirk reclined back against the chair, letting the late afternoon sun bath his face in its rays. From inside the house, he could hear the clattering from the kitchen as Winona was preparing their supper. The door to the farmhouse was thrown open to try to take in the slight breeze coming across the field; the screen door the only thing keeping the pesky black flies out._

 _He was so focused with visions of their future son and their future life here that he hadn't noticed that the clanging in the kitchen had disappeared, and Winona was now standing beside him on the porch; a letter clenched tightly in one hand. He didn't notice her at all until she thrusted that letter under his nose._

" _What is this?"_

 _Hearing her ask him a direct question, he threw his gaze down onto the letter to see what exactly it was. Upon seeing that it was a letter from Star Fleet, he turned away again. He had been telling himself for several days that he shouldn't keep secrets from his new wife. That was certainly not the best way to start this new step in their relationship, but every time he was about to tell her, the words, and the will to say them, faded away completely. He didn't want to think about the look of utter disappointment that would flood upon her pretty features. There was no need for someone so beautiful to look so depressed. At least, that's what George Kirk was telling himself was the reason._

" _It's just one last job, love. I should be done before our child is born."_

" _George..."_

 _He instantly recognized the tone in his wife's voice. It was the tone that you used when you were trying to get a child to see reason in their impulsive action. To George though, taking this mission was not an impulse. He had given it thought. He had measured the pros and cons of both, and he thought that it was worth that risk. Besides, he was needed, and he couldn't turn someone down when they were depending on him._

" _I meant to tell you. I sincerely did." He turned to tug at another chair on the porch and pull it up alongside his so she could sit down next to him. He held up a hand to her, locking his eyes on hers._

 _She let out a sigh, tossing the letter down onto his lap as she gingerly took a seat. Now that she was coming up on the end of her eighth month of pregnancy, her baby bump was completely visible underneath the flour smeared black shirt she had on. Even though she was pregnant, she still insisted that she could do things that she had done before, including cooking supper. George couldn't stop his stubborn wife. Once she had it in her mind that she was doing something, she would see it through. He admired that about her though. He was the exact same way. It was why they were such a perfect match._

 _He reached over to take one of her hands gently into his. Her fingers gently tightened about his hand to squeeze it back._

" _I don't want you hiding things from me."_

" _I'm sorry. Truly."_

 _She sighed again, lifting her eyes to scan the field in front of her. As she silently stared at the field, George cast his eyes down to the letter still resting on his lap._

" _Where did you even find this?"_

" _Tucked behind the flour can_ _isn't the very best place," she remarked; George looking back over at her in time to see the small smirk that flooded her face. Her eyes turned from the field then to look back at George. "I'm okay with you going on this mission. It's not what we had initially planned on when we got married, but when does life ever go the way it's suppose to? That's what makes it so unpredictable."_

 _George was relieved that he wasn't about to get into an argument with her over this. Even though it seemed like the matter was settled, he still felt as if there was something left to be said that she wasn't saying._

" _What aren't you saying, Winona?" he asked softly, gently brushing his thumb over the back of her hand._

" _I'm coming with you."_

" _No," he said immediately; the word flying from his mouth before he even had time to fully process it all. "You are so close to giving birth now. You have to stay here, and take care of yourself and our child."_

" _George, you act like I'm not going to be careful going with you. What if something happens while you're gone? What if the farm is attacked, and I'm taken captive because you weren't here to protect me and I'm in such a fragile state that I can't fight back?"_

 _He could hear the sarcasm in her voice, chuckling as he reached up to run a hand through his hair._

" _You're not going to allow the final answer on this matter to be a 'no', are you?"_

" _You married me, dear. You should know me by now, if only a bit."_

 _Holding her hand in his still, he brought it up to his lips to kiss it gently._

" _As long as you promise to be careful."_

" _Careful is my middle name," she said with a smirk._

 _George blinked after those words. Why did they seem so familiar? Hadn't he just heard those words from someone else's mouth?_

 _The late afternoon sun seemed to be really getting to him now, causing him to feel as if he were almost burning. He would have just suspected that there was some sort of rapid heat change, but Winona continued to sit in front of him unaffected. She placed her free hand over her baby bump, smiling adoringly down at it._

" _I wonder what kind of boy our child will turn out being?" Winona asked softly._

 _A voice answered her inquiry then. His voice, but he hadn't said anything. The words were in his mind, but hadn't left his lips. Yet, they were echoing through the air as the world about him grew fuzzier and fuzzier. Perhaps he was just tired. Everything_ was _going a bit hazy._

 _Suddenly, without George having time to really react to what was going on, Winona and their unborn child disappeared from in front of him. His love and adoration for them was immediately replaced with anger. Seething hot anger that shot through every part of his being. Who had taken his wife and child from him? Where were they? He felt the need to kill whoever was responsible for ripping them away from him; a feeling that was foreign to him. He was a good man. He didn't want to kill anyone, but he couldn't deny the tempting feeling coursing through him at taking revenge on the person responsible for taking his family away._

 _A new scene flashed to greet his eyes. Darkness. Complete and utter darkness. He was no longer on his farm in Iowa. He had no sense of where he was. All he could still feel was the volatile emotions sweeping through him like a rush of adrenaline; forcing him to stay alert and try to survive. He would find them. He'd punish those who were responsible. He would…_

* * *

Bones was patiently laboring over George Kirk's still passed out body on one of the medical bay beds. He knew that leaving Spock and Jim alone after Spock's recent admission wasn't the brightest plan, but he knew that Jim would be upset with him if anything happened to his father. He had never seen him look as vulnerable as he had in that moment. It was unnerving almost to see such a stubborn and resilient man reduced down to a child in the face of his father's well being. Bones was so consumed with thoughts over Jim and trying to get George to revive, that he hadn't been paying as close attention to the monitor as he should have. If he had been paying better attention to the monitor, he would have had a warning. However, he got no such warning as George Kirk's eyes suddenly flew open and one of his hands shot up to wrap tightly about his neck.

Bones immediately started to cough; choking on what little air remained in his legs. He felt George's grip tighten on his neck, looking down into his eyes to see that whatever had been placed into George's system was still in effect. He dropped what he was holding in his hands onto the medical bed. It flopped off George's chest as he sat up; staring with hate at Bones as he still struggled to breathe.

"You took them from me..." growled George. "You took my son...my wife..."

"N-no..." came out the weak voice of Bones as he tried to claw at George's steel grip about his neck. He wanted to say more, but couldn't. No matter how much he tried to make George's grip lessen, he was failing. Dots started to appear at the edges of his vision.

A whoosh of the medical bay doors sounded behind him then, followed by the quick slapping of feet behind him as someone rushed to his aide. He saw Spock suddenly appear in front of him. Before George had time to react to Spock's presence, Spock had placed his fingers in the necessary position to give him the classical Vulcan nerve pinch, causing him to soon fall back slack against the medical bed again.

With George Kirk's hand now not crushing his wind pipe, he felt himself hacking on the air that rushed down his legs. His neck was still registering the presence of the fingers that had been there only seconds before, and he knew that he would have a bruise to sport for a while over that. When he had had a second to try to collect himself, Bones looked over at Spock who was staring at George Kirk passed out on the medical bed with face void of all emotions. Sometimes Bones envied the Vulcans for their ability to detach from situations. He was sure that everyone could at some point or another.

"Well, thanks for coming to my aid," Bones rasped out as he moved to collect what had been dumped onto the floor during the altercation.

Hearing Bones address him, Spock turned his gaze off of George Kirk to nod towards Bones.

"I was merely conducting the appropriate action for the situation, Leonard. No thanks is needed."

"Glad to know..." Bones let out a weak attempt at a chuckle, moving to consult the monitor. "Maybe I should make you my medical assistant, Spock."

"Your attempt at humor in this situation is commendable," responded Spock, "But you and I both know where my true duty lies."

Yes. Bones did. Everyone did. At the moment, Spock's true duty lied with the Captain. It lied with doing what was right by him, as his commander and as second in command of the Enterprise. Sometimes the line between duty and doing what Spock felt was the right course of action blurred; making the line hard to distinguish and causing tension that didn't need to be there.

"Why didn't you tell Jim?" asked Bones as he turned away from the monitor to look at Spock's passive face once more.

"There was no proof that George Kirk had survived all these years. It was merely speculation. I didn't want to fill the Captain with false hope."

"Obviously you had a feeling that he was alive though, and you lied to Jim about it."

"I withheld information for the greater good. There was no sense sending the Captain on what might have been a fool's errand."

An almost acidic tone was forming in Spock's voice; his human half started to shine through a bit. Bones let out a sigh, reaching up a hand to rub at his still aching throat.

"And now how do you feel about that decision to withhold such information?" asked Bones. "Did you ever wonder if maybe...just maybe if you had told Jim of your suspicions about his father, that the two of you could have figured out some logical way to approach the situation?" Seeing Spock's face remain passive and his eyes once again riveted to George's body, Bones shook his head. "This situation could have turned out better, if you two had perhaps worked together. That's all I'm saying."

"There is no sense focusing on possible scenarios that one could have done, Doctor. There is no going back. There is only moving forward."

Spock turned his head to focus on Bones. The two of them stared at each other for a long moment in utter silence before Spock broke in once more, "I suggest that for the time being we restrain the Captain's father until we have a better understanding of what exactly it is that is in his system."

Bones knew that he should be getting direct confirmation from Jim over this, but he also doubted that Jim was in any shape to handle this right now. He had no idea where he had wandered off to. Bones had seen Jim attempt to follow him down to the medical bay, but he had decided to turn aside before entering. Spock was right though. Bones didn't need Jim's confirmation to see that. For once, he agreed with Spock.

"Alright. I'll go get some straps..."

"I highly recommend that we transfer the Captain's father to one of the holding cells aboard the Enterprise."

Bones' eyebrows shot up in surprise a bit at that remark.

"You want to treat him like a prisoner?"

"No. I want to ensure that the members of this crew are safe, and as obviously displayed mere moments ago in the threat upon your own life, this is not a safe place to keep such a volatile patient."

Bones sighed. Again, Spock had a point. Bones just knew that Jim wouldn't be too pleased with the decision once he caught wind of it.

"I'll arrange a transport then," remarked Bones. He turned and walked over to a com button on the wall, pausing before his finger touched the button. "Spock...this mission. It wasn't about the file, was it?"

Not hearing an answer, Bones turned to see that Spock had left the room; the medical bay doors just swishing shut. Bones sighed as he turned back around to face the com button, pressing it for transport assistance. Sometimes Spock did have his heart in the right place, even if he wanted to act like he didn't have one.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

 _Jim stood in front of the gravestone in his pleather jacket. The grass at his feet was still wet from last night's rain storm, causing his foot to seem to sink into its depths. Engraved on the face of the gravestone was his father's name. Jim took another step or two forward, reaching out a single finger to trace the letters. As he did, he felt like he became a part of them; like he was responsible for writing them there in the first place. His father gave that slab of stone meaning._

" _Hi Dad. It's just me..." He smirked at that, as if stating his existence was a joke. Jim threw his gaze upwards again, looking past the rows and rows of erect gravestones towards the small road nearby. Sitting stalled near the edge of the row was his motorcycle. He would have raced it over the grass to his father's graveside, but he didn't want to disrespect the dead._

 _Moving to kneel, not caring that the wet grass would result in grass stains, he knelt in front of the tombstone. He cast his eyes downwards, placing his hands together and fiddling with his fingers. It was as if he was nervous to talk to his dead dad. That was foolish. It wasn't like the dead could respond. The dead were good listeners._

" _I don't know why I keep coming..." He whispered; a quiet admission then as he felt the salty tears begin to prick at his eyes. "I just...I got a motorcycle, Dad. Mom says it was like yours. She...She worries that I'm only sixteen, and I won't know to be careful...but I've always been careful. Careful for her sake. And for yours."_

 _The wind picked up then, bestowing a cold kiss upon Jim's face as tears silently stole down his cheeks. He sniffled, reaching up a hand to try to brush the tears away._

" _I miss you, Dad..." That was an understatement for sure. He couldn't recall a time when he had ever missed someone more. Especially someone that he had never met._

 _He remembered the first time that he had heard about the true fate that had befallen his father; how his father had had a hero's death. He didn't understand at the time though why they needed to erect a tombstone for a body that wasn't there. He had been under the naive hope and thought at the time that no body meant that his father might still be alive. He clung to that hope as hard as possibly could. He was still clinging to that hope that very day._

" _...I can't do these visits anymore...You're not here. Nothing of you is. Nothing but a name..."_

 _At the mention of a name, he idly began to trace the name again with his fingers; wanting to ingrain the feel of it on every fiber of his being. He wanted to carry the coarse granite feel of his father's grave wherever he was destined to go next. As he pulled his finger back from the words, rubbing the tips of his fingers against each other, he realized that he did always carry a part of his father with him in his own name. The name 'Kirk' was like a metaphorical badge that he was destined to wear all his life; a name that tied him to a dead father he had never met before. His heart ached and soared at the same time with that new knowledge in mind. Moving to stand up, he never took his eyes off the gravestone._

" _I'm off to conquer the world, Dad, but I'll always think of you...I'll think of you resting somewhere beyond the stars."_

 _He craned his head up to look at the semi-blue sky overhead. Rain was rolling in, but if he was lucky, he might just get a glimpse of the stars tonight._

* * *

The first thing that had been James' priority upon re-boarding the Enterprise was to check on the bridge and see how pursuit of the strange planet was going. After being reassured multiple times by Uhura that Spock (who seemed to currently be missing at the moment) had it completely under control, James left the bridge with the express goal to check on his father in the medical bay. He had made it a far distance to his goal before stopping short. He couldn't see his father. He had no idea what he was going to say to him. Guilt was still eating away at him from the inside.

Knowing that Bones would hunt him down when it was time for him to be examined, Kirk decided that the best thing he could do at that moment was to go back to his room and try to rest. Try being the key word. He doubted that he'd get any rest between his father, pondering over the strange ship he had just left, and his own wounds, though his were mainly all psychological.

Entering his sleeping chamber, he moved to throw himself down on the bed. Turning his head so it faced out the window, he stared out at the stars. They all seemed so close, almost as if you could reach out and touch them. His mind brought him back to all the times he had stared up at the stars, thinking his father was among them, watching him. If only he had realized how accurate he really was in his thinking.

Still facing the window, he heard his door slide open as someone entered the room. Not being able to see who it was from the way he was currently lying, Kirk remarked, "I'm fine, Bones. Really."

"You are not fine, Captain. Logically no one could be after such psychological trauma."

Spock. Growing angry at just the mention of the name, he moved to sit up again. Kirk glared towards the spot where the Vulcan stood, crossing his arms as if he were a child.

"You here to apologize?"

Spock took a deep breath before saying, "There's no reason an apology is needed. I was merely withholding information that was purely based in speculation. I didn't feel it was a matter for you to deal with."

"Not a matter for me to deal with?" scoffed Kirk in disbelief as he looked at Spock. "We're talking about my _father._ We're talking about a man that I've thought was dead for years, and one that I still thought was dead until about an hour ago. You had no right, Spock. You should have told me."

"Pardon me for saying this, Captain, but I still feel I did right. Your strong, emotional reaction right now clearly proves that. You would have been in no shape to pilot the mission."

Kirk could feel himself getting angrier by the second. He was letting Spock get to him. He uncrossed his arms to move and clench his hands into fists at his side.

"I think I've heard just about enough from you, Spock."

Spock flicked his eyes to Kirk's clenched fists and back again.

"I meant no harm in my actions. I just chose what I deemed was logical."

"Well, you deemed wrong!" Kirk sprung to his feet then; anger coursing like wildfire throughout his body. "You would do well to keep in mind that _I'm_ the captain. Any information, no matter how trivial, should be run by me. It's your fault that my father has suffered this long."

"Captain, you know that's not true. The duration of your father's psychological torment was not my fault."

Kirk stalked towards Spock, standing mere feet away from him. Kirk kept his eyes locked on Spock's.

"If you would have mentioned my father..."

"You would have what, Captain? Told me to do my job? Told me to stop running unlikely scenarios?"

"Are you giving me sass, Spock?" asked Kirk in disbelief. Under normal circumstances, he'd find Spock's sass humorous, but this only made him angry now. Without thinking, he grabbed Spock by the front of his uniform before drawing a fist back and swinging it hard at his face.

Spock had tried to duck out of the way, and succeeded, but he knew that that would not abate Kirk's attacks. Kirk was furious, and the only way to defend yourself in that sort of situation was to fight back. So that's exactly what Spock did. By the time Bones had settled George in, in his new location and made it to Kirk's room, Spock and Kirk were having a full out war.

Bones whistled loudly through the air before rushing over to peel Spock and Kirk off one another.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing." Bones held firmly to the material of Kirk's right shoulder and Spock's left as he moved to force them to both sit on Kirk's bed. "Now, what are you two tearing into each other about?"

Kirk, who now sported a bloodied lip along with the rest of his injuries, looked away from Bones and out the window again.

"I think you know," said Kirk in a flat voice.

Bones turned his gaze to Spock, giving the Vulcan a "What-The-Heck" look before turning back to Kirk again.

"I'm sorry about your father..."

"It's fine...Wasn't your fault..."

"Spock told you then?" asked Bones softly.

"Told me what? I already know." Kirk turned away from the window to glare in an accusatory manner at Spock again. "This Vulcan thinks he knows best about everything. Maybe he's wrong some of the time."

"Well, I think he might be right about this."

Not understanding why Bones was saying what he was, Kirk turned his attention to him.

"You think Spock was right?"

"Yes. It was for the safety of the crew, as awful as it is..."

"I never thought I'd see the day where you would agree with Spock that it's okay to lie to me..."

"I didn't lie to you, Captain. I withheld information -"

"Spock, I swear, if I hear you say that crap one more time, I'm going to -"

"Whoa! Whoa! Hold up! I didn't say that I agreed with him about not telling you, Kirk," said Bones then; the turn of the conversation finally starting to dawn on him. "I actually told Spock when he came to see me in the medical bay that you two should have worked together from the beginning."

"You visited Bones in the sick bay?" asked Kirk, turning to look at Spock who didn't look at him, instead staring straight forward.

"He saved my life, Jim," said Bones as Kirk turned back to look at him again. Kirk watched as Bones moved to point out the ugly green and purple bruises that were forming on his neck.

"Someone tried to strangle you?" asked Kirk; eyes widening.

"Yes," said Bones.

"Who?" asked Kirk. "I want to know who is responsible."

"Your father did it, Jim," said Bones.

That news was a heavy blow to Kirk. His father, a man that he had always idolized, had almost picked off one of his best friends. Seeing Kirk lose himself to his thoughts, Bones decided to continue so as not to lose Kirk completely.

"But Spock here jumped right in and saved my hide. Spock then suggested that we relocate your father for the safety of the crew. That's what I was agreeing with him about."

Kirk snapped out of his thoughts at the mention of them having relocated his father.

"Where is he?"

"In the holding cells," said Bones softly. "I thought that's what Spock came here to tell you."

"It was exactly why I came here," remarked Spock then, turning to look at the pair of them, "But there was a new development that delayed that plan."

Kirk, still fuming over Spock, stood up off the bed and began to march towards the door.

"I'm going to see my father, and neither of you try to stop me."

Kirk left his chamber and marched straight down the hall to where the holding cells were, and he got his wish. No one tried to stop him.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Kirk seemed to make it down to the holding cells in record time. Even the guard that was posted there was surprised by his sudden appearance. The guard immediately stood at attention, looking anxious as he looked at his agitated superior.

"I want to see him."

"Sir, with all due respect..."

The guard's sentence died prematurely as Kirk shot him a glare, brushing past him to begin walking towards the cells. He had no idea what he was going to say to his father, but figured that he would figure it out on the spot. He was one of those types of people.

He soon found where Bones and Spock had situated his father, though situated wasn't the best word. It was true that they had placed him in a cell, but he was in no way settled in. He was currently pacing back and forth across the cell like a stalking lion, waiting for the right time to pounce now that he had been freed.

"Dad," he said; the word sounding so foreign on his tongue after not having been spoken in so long. Not in the right way, of course.

That one word caused his father to stop dead in his tracks and turn to look at him. The glare that was shot Kirk's way was one of such intense anger and hatred that he found himself taking a step or two back despite doing his best not to appear intimidated.

"Dad? Who are you?"

"James," he said. "James Kirk. I'm your son."

That caused his father to let out a bark of laughter then before giving Kirk a dismissive wave of his hand to be able to resume his pacing ways. That only caused Kirk to get angry. He wasn't willing to be treated in that regard. No matter what he had done before this, no matter how wrong it had been to say this man wasn't his father, he wasn't about to stand there and be treated that way. He walked closer to the glass enclosure his father was in, slapping his palm against the glass once in anger.

"I am your son."

"No. My son is still in the womb," asserted George then, stopping the pacing once more only to stalk closer to the glass. "You're keeping me from him…"

"That was well over two decades ago when I was in the womb. I'm not keeping you from your son. I _am_ your son," Kirk said, staring straight at his father. "You almost just choked a friend of mine to death. Do you know that?"

The smirk appeared again as his father finally opted to sit down on the cot that was jutting out of the wall. He pressed his hands down onto his kneecap, running the palms back and forth for a moment as he let his face speak for him. Kirk hated seeing his childhood hero looking like a villain.

"Friends just get in the way. You're a captain after all, aren't you? You don't have time for friends."

"They aren't just my friends," said Kirk; anger flashing in his ocean blue eyes. "They are my family. As are you."

"Family is a vulnerability. How do you expect to be a strong captain when you have such an obvious weakness?"

"Dad, this isn't you..."

Even though Jim Kirk hadn't ever met his father in his lifetime before this, his mother had kept him alive in stories. As a young boy, he remembered sitting on the porch bench alongside his mother as the sun set; watching as she flipped through a weathered photo album in her hands. Even then, he could tell that it had seen better days. She obviously had looked at it a lot, and loved the man captured there even more. Kirk remembered hearing stories about how they first met; about multiple dates they had gone on that hadn't necessarily gone according to plan. He had idolized the man that was held captive within those photos. That was, until his mother met Carl and made him the center of her world. Her heart break had finally been too much for her to deal with, and Kirk had had to deal with a monster of a boyfriend. During that time, Kirk's idolization of his father had turned to anger at his abandoning him. He had to have known that what he was doing would be potential fatal to his life. He had taken the risk anyway. He had chosen to leave them. At least, that was the juvenile thought that he had allowed to run through his mind. It was the same juvenile thought that he had clung to until Pike made him change his mind.

"How do you know this isn't me?" asked his father then. "You know nothing about me."

"You saved my life back on that ship, and I'm going to prove that to you."

"Prove that? Captain, do you hear the words coming out of your mouth?"

"Do you hear the words coming out of _yours_?"

Kirk didn't wait for another snide remark from his father. It was the effects of the drugs in his system talking, after all. Kirk moved to where they kept the stash of emergency weapons. They hadn't ever had to use them, not having kept many prisoners in their cells before, but they were luckily still housed there. He grabbed one of the stun guns out before moving towards the cell. His father now watched him with keen interest as an alarm started to sound out. Kirk paused at the pad that would allow him entrance to his father's cell. He had obviously triggered an alarm when he had opened the panel for the emergency weapons.

"Spock..." He muttered.

Spock was always taking precautions. Kirk remembered the argument about installing the alarms for the emergency weapons panel. It was to alert the crew that there was a threat that needed their immediate attention. Spock had insisted that the alarms would be necessary, and would neutralize the situation faster, while Kirk had insisted that all the alarms were going to do was going to worry the whole ship for nothing. Kirk always thought whatever threat was needed for the emergency weapons wouldn't be that hard to fix. He still thought that.

Kirk's fingers began to fly over the pad that would unlock his father's cell. He quickly slipped through the doors when they swished open, turning to click a combination on the pad on the other side that would lock everyone else out. Sometimes it helped to have the access to the Enterprise that being a Captain granted you. Now, despite the alarms blaring out in the way they were, no one would be able to interfere with what Kirk was about to do next.

His father was only a few feet away from him now; having stood up off the cot while Kirk had been running about. Kirk flipped the stun gun off stun, throwing it at his father's feet. He held both arms up in an act of surrender as he lessened the gap between them with slow, steady steps.

"If I'm not who you think I am, then I dare you to put your money where your mouth is." Kirk nodded towards the stun gun lying on the floor by his father's feet. "If you sincerely believe that I'm keeping you from getting home to your son, kill me."

George watched Kirk stepping closer to him in an act of surrender. Meanwhile, on the other side of the glass, Spock and Bones immediately rushed into the room; an outfit of other Enterprise personnel behind them with guns. Bones' eyes widened when he saw that Kirk was in the cell with his father, slowly moving to stand right in front of him.

"What are you doing, man?!" yelled out Bones then, causing Kirk's eyes to move from his father's face to look out the glass towards Bones. "Are you trying to commit suicide?"

"I'm winning my father back," said Kirk before turning back to focus on his father again, moving to kneel in front of him.

"Spock," said Bones, turning to grab Spock gruffly by the shoulders. "Do something! Talk him out of it."

"You and I both know that there is no talking the Captain out of anything that he sets his mind to."

"You are telling me that you are just going to stand here and watch him get killed?"

Spock shook Bones' grip off of him, turning his full attention back to what Kirk was doing on the other side of the glass.

"I trust in the Captain's ability to make gut decisions."

"Gut decisions aren't logical, Spock," muttered Bones. "This is not the appropriate time for the human part of you to come to the forefront. Are you out of your cotton pickin' mind?"

Not getting another answer from Spock, Bones sighed in a disgruntled manner, moving quickly towards the pad. When he tried to type in the number that would open the cell, it refused to grant him admittance. Bones cursed, slamming his hand hard against the face of the pad as if that would grant him the access he wanted.

"SPOCK! Are you gonna come help me out, or are you going to watch Kirk play a sick version of Russian Roulette with a loaded gun that he is not in control of?"

"That was a poor metaphor, Bones..."

"Is that _seriously_ what you are going to comment on right now?"

As the garbled noise of Bones' and Spock's argument could be heard outside the cell, Kirk looked his father in the eye as he stayed on his knees in front of him. George Kirk had bent down to claim the stun gun in his hands, looking towards it silently. Kirk was now doing the same sort of thing his father had done; putting his own life on the line for a worthy cause. Now being more mature than he used to be, he could now see that that juvenile thought he had had towards his father before had been misplaced. His father hadn't been abandoning them. He had been being brave.

Kirk's blue eyes were reflected in his father's matching gaze as George's head came up from the gun then to finally lock his eyes on him. The stun gun in his possession was slowly turning until it was pointed right at his forehead.

"Dad..." said Kirk softly, looking at his father. "It's me...I know somewhere inside you realize it's me..."

Kirk could see a brief bit of conflict in his father's eyes before they became completely hardened. Sighing, Kirk bent his head; closing his eyes to prepare to be resigned to his fate. Bones was on the other side of the glass, trying hard to get in but failing. Spock was still watching the scene with a sort of meditative ease. Spock didn't look in the least bit alarmed by what was happening right now.

As George pointed the gun at Kirk's forehead, snatches of memories started to peck at his mind. He could remember sitting on the porch with Winona, wondering what kind of son they'd have. The man kneeling before him was brave, stubborn...like Winona and like him...He paused; the hand holding the gun now starting to tremble slightly. Tears stung his eyes as more memories pricked at him. He had been captured and tortured. He had been ripped away from his family for years. This wasn't the enemy. This was his son.

Kirk was still kneeling on the ground with his eyes closed, not knowing what kind of inner turmoil his father was going through at that moment. All he could think about was how much of this situation was all his fault. He shouldn't have denied his father as long as he had. He had hurt him, and it was no doubt his fault that his father had given in to the drugs so quickly. His father wouldn't want to hold out for a son that didn't believe in him. Kirk was still feeling guilty as he heard a 'clink' followed by arms wrapping about him in an embrace. He lifted his head and opened his eyes to see that his father had dropped the gun and was now hugging him tightly to him as he too was now on his knees. Kirk soon moved to hug him tightly back. Bones stopped his frantic attempt to get into the cell, watching what was happening inside the cell. Bones turned back to look at Spock after a second, still seeing that he was standing in the same stoic position he had been.

"I'm not about to admit that you were right, pointy. It's not going to happen."

After a moment or two of hugging, Kirk pulled back to see that his father had tears in his eyes as he looked back at him.

"I'm sorry for doubting in you before… I was in shock," said Kirk; his father shaking his head the whole time.

"No...I'm sorry too. I almost killed you..." said his father.

"We're both sorry," said Kirk then, locking his eyes on his father's again. "We're going to be okay though."

Bones finally managed to override the lock that Kirk had placed upon the pad, making the cell doors slide back so that he could have entrance. Bones looked at the reunion going on in front of him; a few other personnel having filtered in behind him just in case something were to happen. Kirk didn't care about that now. He had accomplished the purpose he had set out to. His father was back.


End file.
